Animal
Owners and Guardians rely on their Vet to give impartial, ethical and
evidence-based opinion for the benefit of the Animal(s) in their care.

The
Vet's governing body, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, has
however, just recently (3rd November), published a truly unbelievable
statement, effectively taking away Vets' and Owners' rights to make an
informed choice about how best to treat the animals in their care.
Instead they
want Vets to prescribe only those medicines first that are provided via
the Pharmaceutical Industry, irrespective of a client's wishes and the
Vet's clinical opinion as to the best course of action to take. If Vets
don't comply, they may well take action against the Vet concerned and
arguably the animal owner may well face prosecution on welfare grounds.

What
follows is how you can make your views known, then the RCVS Statement,
followed by a response from the British Association of Homeopathic
Veterinary Surgeons. It's quite long but read on to find out more. It is
a truly terrifying attack on the rights of animal guardians, and the
ability of Vets to treat the animals they are asked to care for, that
will have far-reaching consequences

We are sure most owners of
animals, and subscribers to vets4InformedChoice will be appalled at the RCVS and will wish to write to them.

Here's how you can help:

1. Emails expressing concern and wishing to raise questions for the RCVS should be sent to president@rcvs.org.uk

2. Please share this mail with everyone you can via your email list and FB.

In
just one day the petition has been signed by more people than the
anti-homeopathy campaign within the Vet Profession managed to gain,
despite coverage in the national media, in 6 months of trying

4. Please visit www.vets4informedchoice.org and
sign up to our email list for updates as the situation evolves. This is
a new site that explores the evidence for conventional and alternative
medicines in animals. The site will be expanding rapidly over the next
few months.

5. Please visit bahvs.com –
the website of the British Association of Veterinary Surgeons (BAHVS).
There you can read the statement issued by the BAHVS in response to the
council's statement. The statement is also shown below. Traffic helps
raise the impact factor of
the website and thus also the BAHVS who are a great group of dedicated,
hard-working Vets. They also have a Facebook page you can follow https://www.facebook.com/BritishAssociationofHomeopathicVeterinarySurgeons

6. Visit your local MP and raise awareness of the issue and your concerns

7. If
you have connections, are a journalist, an activist, a politician or
just deeply care about freedom of choice and animals, and want to help,
please contact sec@bahvs.com

The RCVS Council Position Statement

"We
have recently been asked questions about complementary and
alternative medicines and treatments in general and homeopathy in
particular. We would
like to highlight our commitment to promoting the advancement of veterinary
medicine upon sound scientific principles and to re-iterate the fundamental
obligation upon our members as practitioners within a science-based
profession which is to make animal welfare their first consideration.

In fulfilling this obligation, we expect that treatments offered by
veterinary surgeons are underpinned by a recognised evidence base or sound
scientific principles. Veterinary surgeons should not make unproven claims
about any treatments, including prophylactic treatments.

Homeopathy exists without a recognised body of evidence for its use.
Furthermore, it is not based on sound scientific principles. In order to
protect animal welfare, we regard such treatments as being complementary
rather than alternative to treatments for which there is a recognised
evidence base or which are based in sound scientific principles.

It is vital to protect the welfare of animals committed to the care of the
veterinary profession and the public's confidence in the profession that any
treatments not underpinned by a recognised evidence base or sound scientific
principles do not delay or replace those that do."

The Response from the British Association of Homeopathic Veterinary Surgeons

We
are deeply disappointed that the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
(RCVS) has chosen to step outside its remit and make such an
ill-considered and misinformed statement regarding Complementary and
Alternative Medicines (CAM) in general, and Homeopathy in particular.

The
RCVS mission statement is “Setting, upholding and advancing the
educational, ethical and clinical standards of Veterinary Surgeons and
Veterinary Nurses”

In making this statement on CAM the RCVS fails its mission on so many levels, but in particular when one
considers ethics.

The
RCVS failed to consult at all with stakeholders actually involved in
CAM, despite representations to be so consulted, before considering and
issuing their statement. This failure is contrary to the usual manner in
which the RCVS conducts itself.

It
is commonly accepted that it is not the role of a regulator to seek to
influence clinical judgement nor to resolve differences of scientific
opinion. The RCVS has stated many times that it does not get involved.
Yet the current RCVS Council has seemingly, willingly, allowed itself to
be seduced by a belief-based irresponsible diatribe from a vocal
minority into a precedent-setting restriction of the clinical freedoms
the profession has always enjoyed. In doing so it has ignored advice
from its own advising committees and it
has embarked on a course that will stifle future innovation, research
and evolution of new treatment modalities.

It
is perhaps no coincidence that it should do so when there is an
explosion of interest in CAM, including Homeopathy, in the agricultural
sector where the drive is to reduce and replace dependence on
antibiotics in light of Antibiotic Resistance (AMR) concerns, and some
of the most successful methods so far are proving to be those defined as
CAM. It is fact that some of the largest “conventional" veterinary
practices in the UK dealing with animal production for food are the ones
leading the way on this, seeking out treatments as “alternative”, and
Homeopathy is proving one of the successful modalities. In singling out
the issue of prophylactic treatments - the very use of CAM for which in
agriculture
significantly threatens the finances of the Pharmaceutical Industry -
the RCVS puts itself into a position where it can be accused of putting
profits before probity, and corporations before conscience - or is it
just naïve and completely out of touch?

The
RCVS statement and the associated debates, have created a moral
imperative for many mainstream practices of the profession to be
publicly examined in detail. We are sure over the coming weeks, months
and years there will be uncomfortable times ahead for all branches of
the profession. It is just not acceptable for the mainstream body of
vets to claim the moral high ground when the evidence base for much of
Veterinary Science is poor at best. There is plenty of evidence of poor
and demonstrably harmful practices ignored in the modern corporate world
in favour of targets and
profitability. Industry business journals even run articles on “mining”
the best clients for cash.

History
tells us that to question the RCVS and the status quo is a dangerous
path. In making the statement as it has, regarding CAM in general and
Homeopathy in particular, the RCVS has shown its lack of consideration
for those affected. This includes those who own and care for animals
where their freedom of choice may be restricted. What of patients
already on treatments they may now be denied? There is no published
impact assessment or route to compensation for those whose practices are
now suffering. In creating a complainant’s charter, the RCVS Council
must accept that it needs to face up to questions of its own. It is
arguably now complicit in deception of the public, which its very
existence is meant to
protect.

So what of the
evidence argument against CAM? There is in fact very good evidence for
much of CAM, including and especially Homeopathy, with many
peer-reviewed papers in a number of Journals. However, these papers are
routinely ignored by the establishment as they are published in CAM
journals. This is bizarre when one considers that a parasitologist will
publish in a journal of parasitology, a pharmacist in a journal of
pharmacology, so why not a homeopath in the journal “Homeopathy”?

A
level playing field regarding evidence it is not. The bar is raised so
high by the RCVS for CAM that it can never compete. Funding for research
has been historically blocked by bodies such as the BVA. When the
mainstream journals are sponsored by Big Pharma and other vested
interests, so that Editors dare not publish CAM papers, it is unfair and
corrupt to criticise CAM in this way. The RCVS's own Science Committee
in this debate noted that the evidence base for a number of accepted
“conventional” treatments is lacking so why pick on CAM, which has as
good if not better in place, and is not subject to the same fallacies
that can contaminate the most prestigious journals when researcher and
publisher bias and fraud are led by the money men?

Clients
actively seek out CAM therapies for their animals as conventional
medicines regularly fail or produce unacceptable side effects.
Homeopathy has previously been recognised in the RCVS register as having
a specialist qualification (it still does), and is independently
examined and regulated, which is perhaps why it attracts the most ire of
the CAM options.
Homeopathy is in fact provided for in UK and EU Legislation. It is
required to be available, cannot be banned without a change in the Law,
and it behoves the profession to embrace it, even if in the minority.

A
witch-hunt has been conducted on an unprecedented scale in the
profession. This has been aided by the support on social media of some
Past Presidents of the RCVS and BVA, RCVS Council members and by the
profession’s media chiefs. It is time for it to stop. It discredits
those making and supporting the attacks on colleagues, discredits the
profession and, by disseminating false conclusions to the media, adds to
the growing and damaging public distrust of science and of our
profession.

The RCVS sits at the very core of our profession. It has to be the ethical face of the
profession and has to set an example to the profession. In this case it falls far short of the high standard it should project.

In
making such a statement as it now has, the RCVS has lost all
credibility in the Evidence Based Medicine debate, and has eschewed the
moral integrity required to regulate the profession. Its statement
should be withdrawn immediately.

]]>The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons are taking away your right to make Informed Choices for your Pet.

Animal
Owners and Guardians rely on their Vet to give impartial, ethical and
evidence-based opinion for the benefit of the Animal(s) in their care.

The
Vet's governing body, the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, has
however, just recently (3rd November), published a truly unbelievable
statement, effectively taking away Vets' and Owners' rights to make an
informed choice about how best to treat the animals in their care.
Instead they
want Vets to prescribe only those medicines first that are provided via
the Pharmaceutical Industry, irrespective of a client's wishes and the
Vet's clinical opinion as to the best course of action to take. If Vets
don't comply, they may well take action against the Vet concerned and
arguably the animal owner may well face prosecution on welfare grounds.

What
follows is how you can make your views known, then the RCVS Statement,
followed by a response from the British Association of Homeopathic
Veterinary Surgeons. It's quite long but read on to find out more. It is
a truly terrifying attack on the rights of animal guardians, and the
ability of Vets to treat the animals they are asked to care for, that
will have far-reaching consequences

We are sure most owners of
animals, and subscribers to vets4InformedChoice will be appalled at the RCVS and will wish to write to them.

Here's how you can help:

1. Emails expressing concern and wishing to raise questions for the RCVS should be sent to president@rcvs.org.uk

2. Please share this mail with everyone you can via your email list and FB.

In
just one day the petition has been signed by more people than the
anti-homeopathy campaign within the Vet Profession managed to gain,
despite coverage in the national media, in 6 months of trying

4. Please visit www.vets4informedchoice.org and
sign up to our email list for updates as the situation evolves. This is
a new site that explores the evidence for conventional and alternative
medicines in animals. The site will be expanding rapidly over the next
few months.

5. Please visit bahvs.com –
the website of the British Association of Veterinary Surgeons (BAHVS).
There you can read the statement issued by the BAHVS in response to the
council's statement. The statement is also shown below. Traffic helps
raise the impact factor of
the website and thus also the BAHVS who are a great group of dedicated,
hard-working Vets. They also have a Facebook page you can follow https://www.facebook.com/BritishAssociationofHomeopathicVeterinarySurgeons

6. Visit your local MP and raise awareness of the issue and your concerns

7. If
you have connections, are a journalist, an activist, a politician or
just deeply care about freedom of choice and animals, and want to help,
please contact sec@bahvs.com

The RCVS Council Position Statement

"We
have recently been asked questions about complementary and
alternative medicines and treatments in general and homeopathy in
particular. We would
like to highlight our commitment to promoting the advancement of veterinary
medicine upon sound scientific principles and to re-iterate the fundamental
obligation upon our members as practitioners within a science-based
profession which is to make animal welfare their first consideration.

In fulfilling this obligation, we expect that treatments offered by
veterinary surgeons are underpinned by a recognised evidence base or sound
scientific principles. Veterinary surgeons should not make unproven claims
about any treatments, including prophylactic treatments.

Homeopathy exists without a recognised body of evidence for its use.
Furthermore, it is not based on sound scientific principles. In order to
protect animal welfare, we regard such treatments as being complementary
rather than alternative to treatments for which there is a recognised
evidence base or which are based in sound scientific principles.

It is vital to protect the welfare of animals committed to the care of the
veterinary profession and the public's confidence in the profession that any
treatments not underpinned by a recognised evidence base or sound scientific
principles do not delay or replace those that do."

The Response from the British Association of Homeopathic Veterinary Surgeons

We
are deeply disappointed that the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons
(RCVS) has chosen to step outside its remit and make such an
ill-considered and misinformed statement regarding Complementary and
Alternative Medicines (CAM) in general, and Homeopathy in particular.

The
RCVS mission statement is “Setting, upholding and advancing the
educational, ethical and clinical standards of Veterinary Surgeons and
Veterinary Nurses”

In making this statement on CAM the RCVS fails its mission on so many levels, but in particular when one
considers ethics.

The
RCVS failed to consult at all with stakeholders actually involved in
CAM, despite representations to be so consulted, before considering and
issuing their statement. This failure is contrary to the usual manner in
which the RCVS conducts itself.

It
is commonly accepted that it is not the role of a regulator to seek to
influence clinical judgement nor to resolve differences of scientific
opinion. The RCVS has stated many times that it does not get involved.
Yet the current RCVS Council has seemingly, willingly, allowed itself to
be seduced by a belief-based irresponsible diatribe from a vocal
minority into a precedent-setting restriction of the clinical freedoms
the profession has always enjoyed. In doing so it has ignored advice
from its own advising committees and it
has embarked on a course that will stifle future innovation, research
and evolution of new treatment modalities.

It
is perhaps no coincidence that it should do so when there is an
explosion of interest in CAM, including Homeopathy, in the agricultural
sector where the drive is to reduce and replace dependence on
antibiotics in light of Antibiotic Resistance (AMR) concerns, and some
of the most successful methods so far are proving to be those defined as
CAM. It is fact that some of the largest “conventional" veterinary
practices in the UK dealing with animal production for food are the ones
leading the way on this, seeking out treatments as “alternative”, and
Homeopathy is proving one of the successful modalities. In singling out
the issue of prophylactic treatments - the very use of CAM for which in
agriculture
significantly threatens the finances of the Pharmaceutical Industry -
the RCVS puts itself into a position where it can be accused of putting
profits before probity, and corporations before conscience - or is it
just naïve and completely out of touch?

The
RCVS statement and the associated debates, have created a moral
imperative for many mainstream practices of the profession to be
publicly examined in detail. We are sure over the coming weeks, months
and years there will be uncomfortable times ahead for all branches of
the profession. It is just not acceptable for the mainstream body of
vets to claim the moral high ground when the evidence base for much of
Veterinary Science is poor at best. There is plenty of evidence of poor
and demonstrably harmful practices ignored in the modern corporate world
in favour of targets and
profitability. Industry business journals even run articles on “mining”
the best clients for cash.

History
tells us that to question the RCVS and the status quo is a dangerous
path. In making the statement as it has, regarding CAM in general and
Homeopathy in particular, the RCVS has shown its lack of consideration
for those affected. This includes those who own and care for animals
where their freedom of choice may be restricted. What of patients
already on treatments they may now be denied? There is no published
impact assessment or route to compensation for those whose practices are
now suffering. In creating a complainant’s charter, the RCVS Council
must accept that it needs to face up to questions of its own. It is
arguably now complicit in deception of the public, which its very
existence is meant to
protect.

So what of the
evidence argument against CAM? There is in fact very good evidence for
much of CAM, including and especially Homeopathy, with many
peer-reviewed papers in a number of Journals. However, these papers are
routinely ignored by the establishment as they are published in CAM
journals. This is bizarre when one considers that a parasitologist will
publish in a journal of parasitology, a pharmacist in a journal of
pharmacology, so why not a homeopath in the journal “Homeopathy”?

A
level playing field regarding evidence it is not. The bar is raised so
high by the RCVS for CAM that it can never compete. Funding for research
has been historically blocked by bodies such as the BVA. When the
mainstream journals are sponsored by Big Pharma and other vested
interests, so that Editors dare not publish CAM papers, it is unfair and
corrupt to criticise CAM in this way. The RCVS's own Science Committee
in this debate noted that the evidence base for a number of accepted
“conventional” treatments is lacking so why pick on CAM, which has as
good if not better in place, and is not subject to the same fallacies
that can contaminate the most prestigious journals when researcher and
publisher bias and fraud are led by the money men?

Clients
actively seek out CAM therapies for their animals as conventional
medicines regularly fail or produce unacceptable side effects.
Homeopathy has previously been recognised in the RCVS register as having
a specialist qualification (it still does), and is independently
examined and regulated, which is perhaps why it attracts the most ire of
the CAM options.
Homeopathy is in fact provided for in UK and EU Legislation. It is
required to be available, cannot be banned without a change in the Law,
and it behoves the profession to embrace it, even if in the minority.

A
witch-hunt has been conducted on an unprecedented scale in the
profession. This has been aided by the support on social media of some
Past Presidents of the RCVS and BVA, RCVS Council members and by the
profession’s media chiefs. It is time for it to stop. It discredits
those making and supporting the attacks on colleagues, discredits the
profession and, by disseminating false conclusions to the media, adds to
the growing and damaging public distrust of science and of our
profession.

The RCVS sits at the very core of our profession. It has to be the ethical face of the
profession and has to set an example to the profession. In this case it falls far short of the high standard it should project.

In
making such a statement as it now has, the RCVS has lost all
credibility in the Evidence Based Medicine debate, and has eschewed the
moral integrity required to regulate the profession. Its statement
should be withdrawn immediately.

]]>http://www.wolftucker.co.uk/blog/the-c-word-cancer/
Thu, 12 Oct 2017 22:54:15 +0000http://www.wolftucker.co.uk/blog/the-c-word-cancer/So today I’m going to talk a bit about the big C word –
Cancer. And more importantly how you could help reduce the likelihood of cancer
in your pet (and yourselves) – Chemoprevention.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in dogs, with
around 1 in 3 domestic dogs estimated to develop cancer. This statistic is
similar to the stats for men, and worse than that for women. In both humans and
dogs, as average length of life increases, so do cancer incidence rates. Female
dogs seem to have an increased incidence of cancer compared to male dogs.
Certain dog breeds are predisposed to higher rates of cancer than others, such as
Flat Coated Retrievers and Boxers. Various other factors have been found to
influence cancer rates, including diet, neutering status (see previous blog on
neutering for more info), chemical exposure, lifestyle, etc.

Diet is one of the most commonly discussed life factors that
could help minimise the risk of cancer. Most people just think this means
“eating a healthy diet”; but what does that even mean? It is super hard to work
out when it comes to human nutrition, but with dog food there is such a wide
range of varied advice given out by different vets and animal professionals
that it becomes almost a minefield. Even within the ‘natural feeding’ community
there is so much variety – Should I feed a prey model? Should I include fruits
and veggies? Should I cook it or feed raw? Should I make my own or buy a
balanced complete pre-made one? What is the best?!?!

Well I think the answer to this is that there is no ‘best’
way to feed your pets, or yourselves, but there may be a ‘best’ way for your
specific dog, or for you. As you know we recommend feeding a natural, Biologically
Appropriate Raw (ideally!) Food diet (BARF diet). Many raw feeding experts and
vets, on discussion of the inclusion of fruit and veg in raw food, agree that
it isn’t necessarily ‘essential’ to do so, but it may well help improve health
and supply some extra nutrients that are deficient in modern day foods. In the
current farming climate foods contain lower levels of key nutrients, likely because
animals are often sub-optimally farmed and soils are commonly deficient in
nutrients from over-use of the land, poor crop rotation, or use of chemicals. It
is also known that it is easiest to have a halting or reversing effect on
cancers in the very earliest stage of development – where a normal cell turns
into a pre-neoplastic cell. So this is where diet can get involved in
chemoprevention.

Studies in humans have shown that approximately 20-40% of
cancer incidents are preventable by consuming more fruits and vegetables, with
this one action potentially preventing about 200,000 cancer-related deaths
annually. In epidemiological studies, certain populations consuming diets rich
in specific phytochemicals (plant-derived substances that have a biological
effect in the body) have lowered incidence of heart disease, cancer and
osteoporosis. Now dogs obviously aren’t humans and there are more studies on
diet and cancer in humans than in dogs, but there is some evidence available in
animals for the benefits of fruits and vegetables too. For example, Scottish
terriers were found to have a reduced risk of developing Transitional Cell
Carcinomas if they consumed vegetables at least 3 times a week. There are also
many studies on experimental animals showing that dietary phytochemicals found
in plant products can inhibit oncogenesis (tumour formation) and/or exhibit
biological actions against the progression of various cancers. Other studies
have found that a lean body condition, restricted calories and feeding in
‘meals’ rather than grazing can increase the lifespan of Labradors by up to 2
years. Terriers were found to have a reduced risk for the development of
tumours and a lower incidence of pancreatitis, diabetes mellitus, and bone or
joint diseases if kept at their ideal body weight. (See the earlier blog post
on obesity for more info on how allowing your dog to stay chubby could be
compromising their health)

Ever heard of Maillard Reaction Products (MRPs)? I hadn’t
either until I read a few studies about them recently. MRPs are produced when
food is browned, made golden or even burnt – it is known as a nonenzymatic
browning reaction. They are known to increase palatability in human and animal
foods because they have a nice taste (think perfectly cooked toast vs. warm
bread). MRPs are formed by the Maillard reaction which reduces the
bioavailability of amino acids such as Lysine. MRPs and other by-products of
the Maillard reaction have been found in human studies to be carcinogenic to
the point where human nutrition courses now advise therapists to recommend
bread is only warmed and never properly toasted (how tragic!). Now back to how
this affects dogs (and cats!). The key ‘wake-up’ study for me on this topic was
looking at quantities of MRPs in commercially available pet foods (J Agric Food
Chem 2014 van Rooijen et al. if you’re interested). The authors found that the
average daily intake of one of these specific MRPs was 122 times higher for
dogs, and 38 times higher for cats, than the average intake for adult humans.
One Hundred and Twenty Two Times Higher! As if 38 times higher wasn’t bad
enough! The authors conclude that as commercial pet foods are often the sole
source of food for most pets that future research should focus on the long term
health implications of these in our pets. If you look at previous, similar
health extrapolations between humans and pets I think it’s likely these will be
found to be carcinogenic for dogs and cats, as well as humans. MRPs aren’t the
only bad thing about this browning process. A well-known by-product of the
Maillard reaction is Acrylamide, which is a known carcinogen in small animals
and classed as a group 2A carcinogen in humans.

So our advice is to ideally feed a raw diet, and so avoid
all ‘browning’ products. If this isn’t possible then a lightly cooked, or low
heat processed food, is better than a high heat processed food. Keep MRPs to a minimum!

2) Feed fresh vegetables (and fruits) at least 3 times a
week

Pretty straight forward hey? Some of you may already be
doing this but are there vegetables and fruits that are better for
chemoprevention than others? Of course there are! Otherwise I wouldn’t be
writing anything in this section. Before we look at those though we should find
out how phytochemicals can help prevent cancer right? Here’s a little bit of
the science, hopefully simplified for better understanding (I know we vets can
sometimes revert to science speak, which isn’t always easy to follow!):

The ability of any single phytochemical to be chemopreventive,
and so reduce tumour formation, doesn’t come from a single biological response,
but is rather the result of a combination of various, specific intracellular
effects – I know, nothing is ever straight forward! Here are some of the
molecular and cellular activities regulated or affected by chemopreventive
phytochemicals: Cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis – this is the
normal cell cycle where cells are formed, differentiate into their specific
type with their specific jobs, and then when they are old or become abnormal
they are destroyed; Cell cycle progression – if the cell cycle halts then the
likelihood of abnormal cells is higher, and they won’t be destroyed as they
should be; Angiogenesis – the formation of new blood vessels, which in cancer
feed the tumour; DNA repair – because cancer cells form from mutated normal
cells, or damaged DNA; Carcinogen activation/detoxification by metabolic
enzymes – if the carcinogens are not activated, or can be successfully removed
before they cause damage then cancer is minimised; Metastasis – the spread of
the cancer around the rest of the body; Hormonal and growth factor activity –
both hormones and growth factors can have either promoting or suppressing
effects on neoplastic cells; Expression and functional activation of oncogenes
or tumour-suppressor genes – these are present in cellular DNA and under
certain circumstances can transform a cell into a cancerous cell or suppress
this formation, respectively; Oxidative stress – oxidation leads to the
formation of free radicals which steal electrons from neighbouring cells
leaving them damaged; Inflammation – like oxidative stress this damages cells
making them more likely to start on the path to pre-neoplastic and neoplastic
cell formation.

So here’s a little list of some of the best fruit and
vegetable additions to your dogs’ diets, I have included a few medicinal herbs
and mushrooms for interest sake. Vegetable and fruits are easy to add to your
dogs’ diets - chopped finely, grated, lightly steamed or blended with a little
water. (For advice on how to include herbs and spices in your pets’ diets see
previous blog on herbs):

Mushrooms: Oyster, Maitake, Shiitake, Reishi, Lion’s mane,
Coriolus, Cordyceps (these are the best and some are considered ‘medicinal’ but
even everyday button mushrooms can have beneficial effects – it’s regular
dietary intake that’s important)

Miscellaneous: Green tea (care with caffeine content – use
decaff or pour over boiling water, immediately pour away and then make the
tea), Honey (high sugar content so again avoid too high a dose), Soya beans
(care with allergies to soya in dogs)

Here is an
extra little list of the exact and best known phytochemicals for some of these,
included for the inner geek that I know will be inside some of you, and in case
you would like to research further:

[Included for human interest only: Resveratol in red grapes,
and red wine you’ll be pleased to know. Obviously not appropriate for dogs but
thought you’d like the perfect excuse for a glass of wine!&91;

3) Don’t leave chronic inflammation to run unchecked

It is estimated that about 25% of all cancers are linked to
chronic inflammation, inflammation induced by environmental exposures, diet or
infection of pathogens. Cancer is a complex disease and there are many avenues
in its progression that phytochemicals can target. The easiest ones to help
with diet and management are Oxidative stress (with antioxidant foods) and
Inflammation (by avoiding inflammatory foods, feeding an appropriate diet and
treating acute inflammation before it becomes chronic). We’ve talked about a
fair few of the antioxidant rich foods in point 2 above, so what can we do
about inflammation?

It’s amazing
how many animals live with low level chronic inflammation, without their owners
realising! This could include skin or ear inflammation, joint or muscle
inflammation, gum inflammation, gut inflammation… Sometimes when a problem has
always been there in a pet it becomes ‘normal’. The most common of these we see
are gum and gut inflammation.

Some people
think there is nothing you can do to keep your dogs’ teeth clean, and so their
gums free of inflammation, except brush them which isn’t always a feasible
solution. In fact it’s well accepted that over half of all dogs will have
dental disease by 3 years old – that always enrages me as it is so unnecessary!
If you’ve read our other blogs then you’ll know that the answer to this issue
lies in an appropriate diet and some good old fashion chewing, ideally on a raw
meaty bone (read our previous blog on bones for advice on dental health for
bone eaters or otherwise). Some dogs may need a dental or extractions before dental
health can be maintained, but often this can be avoided if your dogs’ dental
disease hasn’t progressed too far.

Gut
inflammation is the other common chronic problem so let me set it straight: It
is not normal for your dog to do a solid poo in the morning and for it to get
softer and softer as the day goes on. It is not normal for your dog to have
extremely variable stools, soft one day and hard the next. It is not normal for
your dog’s stool to commonly have a mucus (jelly-like) sheath on it. These are
signs of chronic low grade gut inflammation! The right diet for your dog, and
possibly short or long term herbal supplementation/support, should sort this
out in no time.

Skin/ear and joint/muscle inflammation are more complicated
and advice should be sought from your vet. Oftentimes though, with allergic
skin and ear problems, finding the right diet for your dog can make a massive
difference as it removes one potential allergen avenue from the mix, which
could keep your dog below the allergy threshold, and so itch-free. Joint and
muscle issues need a proper assessment, but can often be minimised in your
dogs’ futures by ensuring that after any trauma or injury they are assessed for
any spinal or joint misalignments by a Chiropractor (ideally McTimoney) or the
like, and their diet is not pro-inflammatory. Supplements can also be added to
their diet from middle age onwards to support joint health and mobility.

4) Avoid exposing your pets to unnecessary chemicals

This could include home or laundry cleaning products – use as
natural a product as you can find; chemicals on recently sprayed fields – wait
until at least after it rains before walking there; medications that aren’t
necessary for maintaining health – over-vaccination, over-use of flea/worming
treatments, unnecessary antibiotics…; etc.

So although Cancer is considered the big C-word, maybe we
should be focusing instead on Chemoprevention as being the new big C-word.
Everything has to die of something, and we all tragically know that our pets
don’t live as long as we do, but there are things you can do to help your dog
live as long and healthy a life as possible. We can’t stop cancer yet, but we
might be able to slow it down.

]]>So today I’m going to talk a bit about the big C word –
Cancer. And more importantly how you could help reduce the likelihood of cancer
in your pet (and yourselves) – Chemoprevention.

Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in dogs, with
around 1 in 3 domestic dogs estimated to develop cancer. This statistic is
similar to the stats for men, and worse than that for women. In both humans and
dogs, as average length of life increases, so do cancer incidence rates. Female
dogs seem to have an increased incidence of cancer compared to male dogs.
Certain dog breeds are predisposed to higher rates of cancer than others, such as
Flat Coated Retrievers and Boxers. Various other factors have been found to
influence cancer rates, including diet, neutering status (see previous blog on
neutering for more info), chemical exposure, lifestyle, etc.

Diet is one of the most commonly discussed life factors that
could help minimise the risk of cancer. Most people just think this means
“eating a healthy diet”; but what does that even mean? It is super hard to work
out when it comes to human nutrition, but with dog food there is such a wide
range of varied advice given out by different vets and animal professionals
that it becomes almost a minefield. Even within the ‘natural feeding’ community
there is so much variety – Should I feed a prey model? Should I include fruits
and veggies? Should I cook it or feed raw? Should I make my own or buy a
balanced complete pre-made one? What is the best?!?!

Well I think the answer to this is that there is no ‘best’
way to feed your pets, or yourselves, but there may be a ‘best’ way for your
specific dog, or for you. As you know we recommend feeding a natural, Biologically
Appropriate Raw (ideally!) Food diet (BARF diet). Many raw feeding experts and
vets, on discussion of the inclusion of fruit and veg in raw food, agree that
it isn’t necessarily ‘essential’ to do so, but it may well help improve health
and supply some extra nutrients that are deficient in modern day foods. In the
current farming climate foods contain lower levels of key nutrients, likely because
animals are often sub-optimally farmed and soils are commonly deficient in
nutrients from over-use of the land, poor crop rotation, or use of chemicals. It
is also known that it is easiest to have a halting or reversing effect on
cancers in the very earliest stage of development – where a normal cell turns
into a pre-neoplastic cell. So this is where diet can get involved in
chemoprevention.

Studies in humans have shown that approximately 20-40% of
cancer incidents are preventable by consuming more fruits and vegetables, with
this one action potentially preventing about 200,000 cancer-related deaths
annually. In epidemiological studies, certain populations consuming diets rich
in specific phytochemicals (plant-derived substances that have a biological
effect in the body) have lowered incidence of heart disease, cancer and
osteoporosis. Now dogs obviously aren’t humans and there are more studies on
diet and cancer in humans than in dogs, but there is some evidence available in
animals for the benefits of fruits and vegetables too. For example, Scottish
terriers were found to have a reduced risk of developing Transitional Cell
Carcinomas if they consumed vegetables at least 3 times a week. There are also
many studies on experimental animals showing that dietary phytochemicals found
in plant products can inhibit oncogenesis (tumour formation) and/or exhibit
biological actions against the progression of various cancers. Other studies
have found that a lean body condition, restricted calories and feeding in
‘meals’ rather than grazing can increase the lifespan of Labradors by up to 2
years. Terriers were found to have a reduced risk for the development of
tumours and a lower incidence of pancreatitis, diabetes mellitus, and bone or
joint diseases if kept at their ideal body weight. (See the earlier blog post
on obesity for more info on how allowing your dog to stay chubby could be
compromising their health)

Ever heard of Maillard Reaction Products (MRPs)? I hadn’t
either until I read a few studies about them recently. MRPs are produced when
food is browned, made golden or even burnt – it is known as a nonenzymatic
browning reaction. They are known to increase palatability in human and animal
foods because they have a nice taste (think perfectly cooked toast vs. warm
bread). MRPs are formed by the Maillard reaction which reduces the
bioavailability of amino acids such as Lysine. MRPs and other by-products of
the Maillard reaction have been found in human studies to be carcinogenic to
the point where human nutrition courses now advise therapists to recommend
bread is only warmed and never properly toasted (how tragic!). Now back to how
this affects dogs (and cats!). The key ‘wake-up’ study for me on this topic was
looking at quantities of MRPs in commercially available pet foods (J Agric Food
Chem 2014 van Rooijen et al. if you’re interested). The authors found that the
average daily intake of one of these specific MRPs was 122 times higher for
dogs, and 38 times higher for cats, than the average intake for adult humans.
One Hundred and Twenty Two Times Higher! As if 38 times higher wasn’t bad
enough! The authors conclude that as commercial pet foods are often the sole
source of food for most pets that future research should focus on the long term
health implications of these in our pets. If you look at previous, similar
health extrapolations between humans and pets I think it’s likely these will be
found to be carcinogenic for dogs and cats, as well as humans. MRPs aren’t the
only bad thing about this browning process. A well-known by-product of the
Maillard reaction is Acrylamide, which is a known carcinogen in small animals
and classed as a group 2A carcinogen in humans.

So our advice is to ideally feed a raw diet, and so avoid
all ‘browning’ products. If this isn’t possible then a lightly cooked, or low
heat processed food, is better than a high heat processed food. Keep MRPs to a minimum!

2) Feed fresh vegetables (and fruits) at least 3 times a
week

Pretty straight forward hey? Some of you may already be
doing this but are there vegetables and fruits that are better for
chemoprevention than others? Of course there are! Otherwise I wouldn’t be
writing anything in this section. Before we look at those though we should find
out how phytochemicals can help prevent cancer right? Here’s a little bit of
the science, hopefully simplified for better understanding (I know we vets can
sometimes revert to science speak, which isn’t always easy to follow!):

The ability of any single phytochemical to be chemopreventive,
and so reduce tumour formation, doesn’t come from a single biological response,
but is rather the result of a combination of various, specific intracellular
effects – I know, nothing is ever straight forward! Here are some of the
molecular and cellular activities regulated or affected by chemopreventive
phytochemicals: Cell proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis – this is the
normal cell cycle where cells are formed, differentiate into their specific
type with their specific jobs, and then when they are old or become abnormal
they are destroyed; Cell cycle progression – if the cell cycle halts then the
likelihood of abnormal cells is higher, and they won’t be destroyed as they
should be; Angiogenesis – the formation of new blood vessels, which in cancer
feed the tumour; DNA repair – because cancer cells form from mutated normal
cells, or damaged DNA; Carcinogen activation/detoxification by metabolic
enzymes – if the carcinogens are not activated, or can be successfully removed
before they cause damage then cancer is minimised; Metastasis – the spread of
the cancer around the rest of the body; Hormonal and growth factor activity –
both hormones and growth factors can have either promoting or suppressing
effects on neoplastic cells; Expression and functional activation of oncogenes
or tumour-suppressor genes – these are present in cellular DNA and under
certain circumstances can transform a cell into a cancerous cell or suppress
this formation, respectively; Oxidative stress – oxidation leads to the
formation of free radicals which steal electrons from neighbouring cells
leaving them damaged; Inflammation – like oxidative stress this damages cells
making them more likely to start on the path to pre-neoplastic and neoplastic
cell formation.

So here’s a little list of some of the best fruit and
vegetable additions to your dogs’ diets, I have included a few medicinal herbs
and mushrooms for interest sake. Vegetable and fruits are easy to add to your
dogs’ diets - chopped finely, grated, lightly steamed or blended with a little
water. (For advice on how to include herbs and spices in your pets’ diets see
previous blog on herbs):

Mushrooms: Oyster, Maitake, Shiitake, Reishi, Lion’s mane,
Coriolus, Cordyceps (these are the best and some are considered ‘medicinal’ but
even everyday button mushrooms can have beneficial effects – it’s regular
dietary intake that’s important)

Miscellaneous: Green tea (care with caffeine content – use
decaff or pour over boiling water, immediately pour away and then make the
tea), Honey (high sugar content so again avoid too high a dose), Soya beans
(care with allergies to soya in dogs)

Here is an
extra little list of the exact and best known phytochemicals for some of these,
included for the inner geek that I know will be inside some of you, and in case
you would like to research further:

[Included for human interest only: Resveratol in red grapes,
and red wine you’ll be pleased to know. Obviously not appropriate for dogs but
thought you’d like the perfect excuse for a glass of wine!&91;

3) Don’t leave chronic inflammation to run unchecked

It is estimated that about 25% of all cancers are linked to
chronic inflammation, inflammation induced by environmental exposures, diet or
infection of pathogens. Cancer is a complex disease and there are many avenues
in its progression that phytochemicals can target. The easiest ones to help
with diet and management are Oxidative stress (with antioxidant foods) and
Inflammation (by avoiding inflammatory foods, feeding an appropriate diet and
treating acute inflammation before it becomes chronic). We’ve talked about a
fair few of the antioxidant rich foods in point 2 above, so what can we do
about inflammation?

It’s amazing
how many animals live with low level chronic inflammation, without their owners
realising! This could include skin or ear inflammation, joint or muscle
inflammation, gum inflammation, gut inflammation… Sometimes when a problem has
always been there in a pet it becomes ‘normal’. The most common of these we see
are gum and gut inflammation.

Some people
think there is nothing you can do to keep your dogs’ teeth clean, and so their
gums free of inflammation, except brush them which isn’t always a feasible
solution. In fact it’s well accepted that over half of all dogs will have
dental disease by 3 years old – that always enrages me as it is so unnecessary!
If you’ve read our other blogs then you’ll know that the answer to this issue
lies in an appropriate diet and some good old fashion chewing, ideally on a raw
meaty bone (read our previous blog on bones for advice on dental health for
bone eaters or otherwise). Some dogs may need a dental or extractions before dental
health can be maintained, but often this can be avoided if your dogs’ dental
disease hasn’t progressed too far.

Gut
inflammation is the other common chronic problem so let me set it straight: It
is not normal for your dog to do a solid poo in the morning and for it to get
softer and softer as the day goes on. It is not normal for your dog to have
extremely variable stools, soft one day and hard the next. It is not normal for
your dog’s stool to commonly have a mucus (jelly-like) sheath on it. These are
signs of chronic low grade gut inflammation! The right diet for your dog, and
possibly short or long term herbal supplementation/support, should sort this
out in no time.

Skin/ear and joint/muscle inflammation are more complicated
and advice should be sought from your vet. Oftentimes though, with allergic
skin and ear problems, finding the right diet for your dog can make a massive
difference as it removes one potential allergen avenue from the mix, which
could keep your dog below the allergy threshold, and so itch-free. Joint and
muscle issues need a proper assessment, but can often be minimised in your
dogs’ futures by ensuring that after any trauma or injury they are assessed for
any spinal or joint misalignments by a Chiropractor (ideally McTimoney) or the
like, and their diet is not pro-inflammatory. Supplements can also be added to
their diet from middle age onwards to support joint health and mobility.

4) Avoid exposing your pets to unnecessary chemicals

This could include home or laundry cleaning products – use as
natural a product as you can find; chemicals on recently sprayed fields – wait
until at least after it rains before walking there; medications that aren’t
necessary for maintaining health – over-vaccination, over-use of flea/worming
treatments, unnecessary antibiotics…; etc.

So although Cancer is considered the big C-word, maybe we
should be focusing instead on Chemoprevention as being the new big C-word.
Everything has to die of something, and we all tragically know that our pets
don’t live as long as we do, but there are things you can do to help your dog
live as long and healthy a life as possible. We can’t stop cancer yet, but we
might be able to slow it down.

]]>http://www.wolftucker.co.uk/blog/herbs-for-a-healthy-diet-and-life-for-you-and-your-dog
Tue, 13 Jun 2017 12:40:36 +0000http://www.wolftucker.co.uk/blog/herbs-for-a-healthy-diet-and-life-for-you-and-your-dogHerbs for a Healthy Diet and Life (For You and Your Dog!)

I’ve always been a huge fan of herbs, and have used them in
food since I first learnt to cook. Looking into herbs as medicines seemed like
the most natural thing to do after this. Luckily for my patients and for myself,
studying veterinary medicine failed to dampen this interest. So as soon as I
finished university I started a veterinary herbal medicine course. Since then
herbs have played a larger and larger part in my life, and I find that you can
connect much more with your surroundings out in nature through knowing a little
about plants as medicine, and as food. You suddenly notice that there is food and
medicine everywhere! And what better way to discover them than in your kitchen,
or garden, or out on a walk. In my house, all of these activities involve being
trailed (or preceded!) by at least one friendly furry face. And so guess what?!
Herbs started finding their way into all of my animals’ lives (the cats find
this less thrilling!)

As my knowledge of herbs grew and my experience using them
in myself, my own pets, and then in my patients, there was one thing I found
odd: Why weren’t so many other people aware of how beneficial herbs could be as
part of a healthy diet and lifestyle, for both themselves and their pets? These
plants were everywhere but people didn’t seem to be taking advantage of the
bounty nature provides them with to aid health. So here I am telling you all
about it, in the hope that you can start your own journey into herbs, for both
food and medicine.

Herbal medicine is the oldest recorded form of medicine,
involving the use of plants or their extracts as medicine. Plant species
evolved alongside animal species and it is said that for every disease that an
animal could produce, there is a plant that could cure it – whether we’ve found
it yet is a different matter! However, before they were used for medicine,
plants were used as food – for flavour, nutrition, and to balance the diet. In
the world we now live in many people are quite disconnected from nature, and
from plants. Food comes in packaging, ready-made or processed to be
unrecognisable from its natural form, with sugar and salt and other additives
used for flavour, more than herbs. Food is mostly bought from a shop, rather
than grown or cultivated in your garden, so few people really get to know
plants or have them available for trying out in their diet. Luckily as dog
owners it is difficult to be totally disconnected from nature, as part of dog
ownership involves taking your dog out for a walk, which more often than not,
involves being out in nature, surrounded by plants! Plus the majority of dog
owners will have a garden of some kind, where plants, even if it is only
grasses, will be growing.

One of the easiest ways to get herbs into your and your
pets’ lives in in your food. This is a great way of taking herbs at low doses
to help promote overall health, rather than necessarily to treat disease
(although they can be used this way, usually at higher doses, or for longer
periods). If you feed raw it makes total sense as dogs would have eaten herbs
from the intestines of their prey way back before they were domesticated. Prey,
being grazers, would always have had a good variety of different herbs
available in their guts for the canids to eat. Herbs and fruits have been found
in wolf guts and scat in modern times too. A lot of owners report to me about
what plants or grasses their dogs like to eat and it’s often fascinating to
find that they have selected plants for their specific condition. This
self-selection is known as zoopharmacognosy, but that’s an entirely different
topic!

In the diet herbs are usually used fresh, dried, or cooked.
Leaves, flowers or fruits can be used fresh or dried, as is, or they can be
infused into just-off-the-boil water for 5-7 minutes. When infusing herbs I
always recommend using a lid over a cup, or a teapot with a lid, as this
preserves any volatile oil components, which are often part of the mechanism of
action of the herb so shouldn’t be lost. Roots can be used fresh, but more
often they are decocted (simmered for 5-7 minutes), or infused if fresh, rather
than dried. Some herbs can be found in powdered forms too which can be used as
is.

Before we
get further into the herbs themselves and how they could help you and your pets
let me say this:

If you or your pet are suffering from disease, or taking any
conventional medicines, then it is wise to consult with a doctor, vet,
herbalist, or veterinary herbalist before taking or giving herbs. Their effects
can be profound and powerful, and they can interact with certain medications,
so please be careful!

Now let’s get you all excited about herbs, and this blog is
going to look at herbs in your house and garden. Most kitchens are a veritable
herbal medicine cabinet if you know what to look for, and lots of people grow
herbs in their gardens, or even on balconies or windowsills in flats and
apartments. Many people keep their own herbal medicine cabinet (or at least a
few remedies!) for themselves, and most of these can be used in dogs too with
an adjustment to dose. The herbs that come to mind for most people are the
aromatic green herbs – think Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, etc. These herbs
are aromatic and flavour-filled because of their volatile oil components.
Freshly chopped or dried (or blended with a little water if your dog is fussy!)
they can be added to meals every day, using anywhere from a sprinkle to a pinch
to a teaspoon, depending on your dog (size and health status). The other herbs
present in most kitchens are the spices and seeds, often used in Eastern
cooking – think Turmeric, Ginger, Fennel seed, Cayenne, Cinnamon, etc. These
are most commonly added to food as powders, although Turmeric and Ginger can be
used fresh, and Fennel seed is usually made into a tea. Then there are the
everyday foods that are herbs like Oats and Bilberries/Blueberries, and the tea
cupboard which can be full of medicines, like Chamomile, Licuorice and Green
tea. And finally the medicine cupboard where you might find Echinacea,
Calendula and Slippery Elm. As well as adding flavour these are nutritious
herbs, and they all have their own medicinal actions:

Parsley – rich in
iron and beta-carotene, this herb is good for anaemia and fatigue. It is a
primary herb of the urinary tract, can help support the immune system and aid in
drying up milk when pups are weaned.

Sage – helps with
fat digestion and like parsley can help dry up milk at weaning or during a
phantom pregnancy. The volatile oils that give it its strong flavour also make
it an herb for modulating microbial populations (this means it encourages
‘good’ bacteria, whilst discouraging ‘bad’ bacteria), so it’s great for
infections, especially of the upper respiratory tract and throat.

Rosemary – a
well-known brain tonic (Rosemary for remembering), this herb improves
circulation and uptake of oxygen by cells, helping digestion, detoxification
and respiration as well as mental function. This does mean though that it
should NOT be given to EPILEPTICS, as their brains are firing too much already!
It is also a microbial modulator.

Thyme – one of my
favourite respiratory herbs, and herbs for cooking, this can help support the
body’s natural defence against infections as well as soothing spasmodic coughs,
aiding expectoration (coughing up gunk from the lungs!), soothing the throat
and modulating those microbes.

Basil – a
particularly delicious herb, great for lifting low mood and calming tension,
which can improve sleep and help with spasmodic or nervous indigestion (like
stress colitis)

Mint – Rich in
Vit C and beta-carotene, Mint is brilliant for nausea (including travel
sickness) and an antispasmodic, so fantastic for gut disorders or cramping
(Dill is also great for gut problems, as are Fennel leaf and Cardamon)

Oregano/Marjoram
– calming herbs these are good for tension and anxiety, as well as gut or
muscle spasms. They have microbial modulating effects too.

Chives – in the same family as garlic,
they are less potent and so can be used more safely, but have the same
antiseptic and microbial modulating benefits, particularly in the respiratory
tract, as well as helping with digestion.

(Garlic can be given to dogs, NOT cats, but be cautious with
the dose and do not give every single day as it can be toxic, causing anaemia)

Lemon balm – a
delicious and wonderful calming herb and part of the mint family, Lemon balm
makes amazing tea. Great for general anxiety and nervousness, as well as for
specific events (like going to the vets!) and for helping with sleep.
Particularly good for older animals.

Turmeric – widely used medicinally as
an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant herb, commonly now in the form of golden
paste (although for medicinal purposes I don’t find this strong enough). It can
discourage cancer if used as part of the diet throughout life, and even form
part of cancer treatment protocols (think ‘Tumour-ic’). It is also brilliant
for the digestion, although too high a dose (too bitter) can upset the guts, so
be cautious. Always give turmeric with a meal containing fat in some form as it
is fat soluble.

Black Pepper –
one study found that 10% Black pepper to Turmeric increased the bioavailability
of Turmeric by 2000%. It hasn’t been repeated but it’s an easy and safe
addition so I always encourage this.

Ginger – great
for the circulation, this warming herb is also fantastic for arthritis and is
an anti-emetic so helps with nausea including travel sickness. If your dog is a
very ‘hot’ dog (!), pants a lot, seeks cool places, etc. then it may be better
to avoid warming herbs, or at least to use them very sparingly, or only when
the weather is cool.

Fennel seed – one
of my favourite herbs for tea, it is one of the best antispasmodic herbs (along
with aniseed), perfect for gut or uterine cramps. It also encourages milk flow
during lactation, especially at the beginning or if there are lots of pups.

Cayenne – a very
warming herb (obviously!), this is fantastic for the circulation, particularly
to the extremities. It is also great for respiratory infections and for poor
digestion. Be very cautious with this as you don’t want to set your dogs’
mouths on fire! (Although when I think about it I’m not sure it’s in my dogs’
mouths long enough for them to really taste it, unless as an after-thought)

Cinnamon –
another warming aromatic herb, Cinnamon is very tasty so can help hide the
flavour of less delicious herbs to improve palatability. It also aids the
circulation, digestion, and has antiseptic and decongesting properties.

Bilberry/Blueberry
– a renowned antioxidant bilberries, and to a lesser extent blueberries and
other berries, are great for maintaining health when fed regularly. Bilberries
are also great for the eyes, and for the brain, so are fantastic for helping
dogs to age more happily.

Oats – although
they are a grain, so some dogs may be sensitive to them, they are also a
medicine. They are a neurotrophorestorative, which means they help the nervous
system to function as effectively as possible, so are fantastic for spinal or
hindlimb problems, as well as for supporting brain function. Best given after
soaking overnight in water (you can give the ‘porridge’ or just squeeze off the
liquid and give that).

Chamomile – one of
my favourite herbs, which as a tea makes a fantastic antiseptic and anti-inflammatory
wash for both wounds and eyes (including mild conjunctivitis or hay fever type
eye inflammation). It is also an amazing calming herb and is fantastic for the
digestion, especially cramps, gas and stress colitis, as well as generalised anxiety
or nervousness.

Liquorice – a
very sweet herb, often made into teas (or sweets!). It is anti-inflammatory and
soothing, particularly for the guts and respiratory tract, especially the
throat. It is also an expectorant so both calms the cough but also encourages
any mucus out of the chest so it can be coughed out of the system.

Green tea –
another well-known antioxidant and immune system booster, great used on a long
term basis to help prevent and treat cancer. Be careful with the caffeine
content in dogs - it is less than black tea but don’t leave the teabag in for
too long! Green tea can also be used as an ear flush or eye wash. Black tea is
good for eyes too but can stain light-coloured fur. Redbush tea has also been
found to have immune boosting and cancer preventing properties.

Echinacea – the
most famous immune modulating herb, known to be great at preventing and
treating infections, particularly viral ones, and especially of the respiratory
tract.

Calendula – found
either in the garden (where it can become a weed if it isn’t kept in a pot) or
in the medicine cabinet in a cream or balm form, Calendula is an amazing wound
healer with antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties too. It’s great for the
guts (fresh or as tea, not the cream!) as well as the skin.

Slippery Elm –
usually found in powder form either as a food supplement or herbal medicine.
This demulcent herb forms a gelatinous paste that coats the lining of the guts
soothing inflammation and protecting from further damage. It even acts as a prebiotic
too, feeding the good bacteria in your dogs’ intestines. It can also be used as
a poultice, by making a paste from it, and placing this over splinters or
similar.

So there’s a little snippet of herbal information to get you
excited and experimenting with supplementing your dogs’ diets, or even treating
them, with easily accessible everyday herbs. Hopefully you’ll even try some of
it yourself as well.

To use herbs as part of a healthy diet and life I would
follow these basic guidelines:

1)Start with a very small amount and build up if
the herb agrees with your dog (and if they like it!)

2)Variety is the spice of life (and it ensures a
variety of nutrient and medicinal benefits)

a.For herb type, and

b.For herb form (fresh, dried, infused, etc.)

I ask one final thing of you: when you are out walking start
to pay particular attention to the plants around you, and how they change with
the seasons. As a child we went for lots of walks, even before we had a dog,
but I remember when we did get our first family dog I suddenly became much more
aware of the seasons. We would walk those same routes and see how the
hedgerows, fields, and neighbouring gardens would change, through the quiet of Winter,
to Spring with its new growth and flowers, to Summer with more flowers, fruits,
seeds and vegetables, continuing into Autumn with the harvest and changing of
the leaves, and back into Winter rest. Being a fan of the seasons helped me to
realise that herbs, both as food and medicine, should vary with the seasons. I
now routinely adjust herbal formulas for my patients and pets at least every 3
months, to ensure the body is adapting and changing with its surroundings. So
get to know your local hedgerow, because in the future I will tell you all
about the herbal treats it has in store for you!

Let’s get excited about plants, together.

]]>Herbs for a Healthy Diet and Life (For You and Your Dog!)

I’ve always been a huge fan of herbs, and have used them in
food since I first learnt to cook. Looking into herbs as medicines seemed like
the most natural thing to do after this. Luckily for my patients and for myself,
studying veterinary medicine failed to dampen this interest. So as soon as I
finished university I started a veterinary herbal medicine course. Since then
herbs have played a larger and larger part in my life, and I find that you can
connect much more with your surroundings out in nature through knowing a little
about plants as medicine, and as food. You suddenly notice that there is food and
medicine everywhere! And what better way to discover them than in your kitchen,
or garden, or out on a walk. In my house, all of these activities involve being
trailed (or preceded!) by at least one friendly furry face. And so guess what?!
Herbs started finding their way into all of my animals’ lives (the cats find
this less thrilling!)

As my knowledge of herbs grew and my experience using them
in myself, my own pets, and then in my patients, there was one thing I found
odd: Why weren’t so many other people aware of how beneficial herbs could be as
part of a healthy diet and lifestyle, for both themselves and their pets? These
plants were everywhere but people didn’t seem to be taking advantage of the
bounty nature provides them with to aid health. So here I am telling you all
about it, in the hope that you can start your own journey into herbs, for both
food and medicine.

Herbal medicine is the oldest recorded form of medicine,
involving the use of plants or their extracts as medicine. Plant species
evolved alongside animal species and it is said that for every disease that an
animal could produce, there is a plant that could cure it – whether we’ve found
it yet is a different matter! However, before they were used for medicine,
plants were used as food – for flavour, nutrition, and to balance the diet. In
the world we now live in many people are quite disconnected from nature, and
from plants. Food comes in packaging, ready-made or processed to be
unrecognisable from its natural form, with sugar and salt and other additives
used for flavour, more than herbs. Food is mostly bought from a shop, rather
than grown or cultivated in your garden, so few people really get to know
plants or have them available for trying out in their diet. Luckily as dog
owners it is difficult to be totally disconnected from nature, as part of dog
ownership involves taking your dog out for a walk, which more often than not,
involves being out in nature, surrounded by plants! Plus the majority of dog
owners will have a garden of some kind, where plants, even if it is only
grasses, will be growing.

One of the easiest ways to get herbs into your and your
pets’ lives in in your food. This is a great way of taking herbs at low doses
to help promote overall health, rather than necessarily to treat disease
(although they can be used this way, usually at higher doses, or for longer
periods). If you feed raw it makes total sense as dogs would have eaten herbs
from the intestines of their prey way back before they were domesticated. Prey,
being grazers, would always have had a good variety of different herbs
available in their guts for the canids to eat. Herbs and fruits have been found
in wolf guts and scat in modern times too. A lot of owners report to me about
what plants or grasses their dogs like to eat and it’s often fascinating to
find that they have selected plants for their specific condition. This
self-selection is known as zoopharmacognosy, but that’s an entirely different
topic!

In the diet herbs are usually used fresh, dried, or cooked.
Leaves, flowers or fruits can be used fresh or dried, as is, or they can be
infused into just-off-the-boil water for 5-7 minutes. When infusing herbs I
always recommend using a lid over a cup, or a teapot with a lid, as this
preserves any volatile oil components, which are often part of the mechanism of
action of the herb so shouldn’t be lost. Roots can be used fresh, but more
often they are decocted (simmered for 5-7 minutes), or infused if fresh, rather
than dried. Some herbs can be found in powdered forms too which can be used as
is.

Before we
get further into the herbs themselves and how they could help you and your pets
let me say this:

If you or your pet are suffering from disease, or taking any
conventional medicines, then it is wise to consult with a doctor, vet,
herbalist, or veterinary herbalist before taking or giving herbs. Their effects
can be profound and powerful, and they can interact with certain medications,
so please be careful!

Now let’s get you all excited about herbs, and this blog is
going to look at herbs in your house and garden. Most kitchens are a veritable
herbal medicine cabinet if you know what to look for, and lots of people grow
herbs in their gardens, or even on balconies or windowsills in flats and
apartments. Many people keep their own herbal medicine cabinet (or at least a
few remedies!) for themselves, and most of these can be used in dogs too with
an adjustment to dose. The herbs that come to mind for most people are the
aromatic green herbs – think Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, Thyme, etc. These herbs
are aromatic and flavour-filled because of their volatile oil components.
Freshly chopped or dried (or blended with a little water if your dog is fussy!)
they can be added to meals every day, using anywhere from a sprinkle to a pinch
to a teaspoon, depending on your dog (size and health status). The other herbs
present in most kitchens are the spices and seeds, often used in Eastern
cooking – think Turmeric, Ginger, Fennel seed, Cayenne, Cinnamon, etc. These
are most commonly added to food as powders, although Turmeric and Ginger can be
used fresh, and Fennel seed is usually made into a tea. Then there are the
everyday foods that are herbs like Oats and Bilberries/Blueberries, and the tea
cupboard which can be full of medicines, like Chamomile, Licuorice and Green
tea. And finally the medicine cupboard where you might find Echinacea,
Calendula and Slippery Elm. As well as adding flavour these are nutritious
herbs, and they all have their own medicinal actions:

Parsley – rich in
iron and beta-carotene, this herb is good for anaemia and fatigue. It is a
primary herb of the urinary tract, can help support the immune system and aid in
drying up milk when pups are weaned.

Sage – helps with
fat digestion and like parsley can help dry up milk at weaning or during a
phantom pregnancy. The volatile oils that give it its strong flavour also make
it an herb for modulating microbial populations (this means it encourages
‘good’ bacteria, whilst discouraging ‘bad’ bacteria), so it’s great for
infections, especially of the upper respiratory tract and throat.

Rosemary – a
well-known brain tonic (Rosemary for remembering), this herb improves
circulation and uptake of oxygen by cells, helping digestion, detoxification
and respiration as well as mental function. This does mean though that it
should NOT be given to EPILEPTICS, as their brains are firing too much already!
It is also a microbial modulator.

Thyme – one of my
favourite respiratory herbs, and herbs for cooking, this can help support the
body’s natural defence against infections as well as soothing spasmodic coughs,
aiding expectoration (coughing up gunk from the lungs!), soothing the throat
and modulating those microbes.

Basil – a
particularly delicious herb, great for lifting low mood and calming tension,
which can improve sleep and help with spasmodic or nervous indigestion (like
stress colitis)

Mint – Rich in
Vit C and beta-carotene, Mint is brilliant for nausea (including travel
sickness) and an antispasmodic, so fantastic for gut disorders or cramping
(Dill is also great for gut problems, as are Fennel leaf and Cardamon)

Oregano/Marjoram
– calming herbs these are good for tension and anxiety, as well as gut or
muscle spasms. They have microbial modulating effects too.

Chives – in the same family as garlic,
they are less potent and so can be used more safely, but have the same
antiseptic and microbial modulating benefits, particularly in the respiratory
tract, as well as helping with digestion.

(Garlic can be given to dogs, NOT cats, but be cautious with
the dose and do not give every single day as it can be toxic, causing anaemia)

Lemon balm – a
delicious and wonderful calming herb and part of the mint family, Lemon balm
makes amazing tea. Great for general anxiety and nervousness, as well as for
specific events (like going to the vets!) and for helping with sleep.
Particularly good for older animals.

Turmeric – widely used medicinally as
an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant herb, commonly now in the form of golden
paste (although for medicinal purposes I don’t find this strong enough). It can
discourage cancer if used as part of the diet throughout life, and even form
part of cancer treatment protocols (think ‘Tumour-ic’). It is also brilliant
for the digestion, although too high a dose (too bitter) can upset the guts, so
be cautious. Always give turmeric with a meal containing fat in some form as it
is fat soluble.

Black Pepper –
one study found that 10% Black pepper to Turmeric increased the bioavailability
of Turmeric by 2000%. It hasn’t been repeated but it’s an easy and safe
addition so I always encourage this.

Ginger – great
for the circulation, this warming herb is also fantastic for arthritis and is
an anti-emetic so helps with nausea including travel sickness. If your dog is a
very ‘hot’ dog (!), pants a lot, seeks cool places, etc. then it may be better
to avoid warming herbs, or at least to use them very sparingly, or only when
the weather is cool.

Fennel seed – one
of my favourite herbs for tea, it is one of the best antispasmodic herbs (along
with aniseed), perfect for gut or uterine cramps. It also encourages milk flow
during lactation, especially at the beginning or if there are lots of pups.

Cayenne – a very
warming herb (obviously!), this is fantastic for the circulation, particularly
to the extremities. It is also great for respiratory infections and for poor
digestion. Be very cautious with this as you don’t want to set your dogs’
mouths on fire! (Although when I think about it I’m not sure it’s in my dogs’
mouths long enough for them to really taste it, unless as an after-thought)

Cinnamon –
another warming aromatic herb, Cinnamon is very tasty so can help hide the
flavour of less delicious herbs to improve palatability. It also aids the
circulation, digestion, and has antiseptic and decongesting properties.

Bilberry/Blueberry
– a renowned antioxidant bilberries, and to a lesser extent blueberries and
other berries, are great for maintaining health when fed regularly. Bilberries
are also great for the eyes, and for the brain, so are fantastic for helping
dogs to age more happily.

Oats – although
they are a grain, so some dogs may be sensitive to them, they are also a
medicine. They are a neurotrophorestorative, which means they help the nervous
system to function as effectively as possible, so are fantastic for spinal or
hindlimb problems, as well as for supporting brain function. Best given after
soaking overnight in water (you can give the ‘porridge’ or just squeeze off the
liquid and give that).

Chamomile – one of
my favourite herbs, which as a tea makes a fantastic antiseptic and anti-inflammatory
wash for both wounds and eyes (including mild conjunctivitis or hay fever type
eye inflammation). It is also an amazing calming herb and is fantastic for the
digestion, especially cramps, gas and stress colitis, as well as generalised anxiety
or nervousness.

Liquorice – a
very sweet herb, often made into teas (or sweets!). It is anti-inflammatory and
soothing, particularly for the guts and respiratory tract, especially the
throat. It is also an expectorant so both calms the cough but also encourages
any mucus out of the chest so it can be coughed out of the system.

Green tea –
another well-known antioxidant and immune system booster, great used on a long
term basis to help prevent and treat cancer. Be careful with the caffeine
content in dogs - it is less than black tea but don’t leave the teabag in for
too long! Green tea can also be used as an ear flush or eye wash. Black tea is
good for eyes too but can stain light-coloured fur. Redbush tea has also been
found to have immune boosting and cancer preventing properties.

Echinacea – the
most famous immune modulating herb, known to be great at preventing and
treating infections, particularly viral ones, and especially of the respiratory
tract.

Calendula – found
either in the garden (where it can become a weed if it isn’t kept in a pot) or
in the medicine cabinet in a cream or balm form, Calendula is an amazing wound
healer with antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties too. It’s great for the
guts (fresh or as tea, not the cream!) as well as the skin.

Slippery Elm –
usually found in powder form either as a food supplement or herbal medicine.
This demulcent herb forms a gelatinous paste that coats the lining of the guts
soothing inflammation and protecting from further damage. It even acts as a prebiotic
too, feeding the good bacteria in your dogs’ intestines. It can also be used as
a poultice, by making a paste from it, and placing this over splinters or
similar.

So there’s a little snippet of herbal information to get you
excited and experimenting with supplementing your dogs’ diets, or even treating
them, with easily accessible everyday herbs. Hopefully you’ll even try some of
it yourself as well.

To use herbs as part of a healthy diet and life I would
follow these basic guidelines:

1)Start with a very small amount and build up if
the herb agrees with your dog (and if they like it!)

2)Variety is the spice of life (and it ensures a
variety of nutrient and medicinal benefits)

a.For herb type, and

b.For herb form (fresh, dried, infused, etc.)

I ask one final thing of you: when you are out walking start
to pay particular attention to the plants around you, and how they change with
the seasons. As a child we went for lots of walks, even before we had a dog,
but I remember when we did get our first family dog I suddenly became much more
aware of the seasons. We would walk those same routes and see how the
hedgerows, fields, and neighbouring gardens would change, through the quiet of Winter,
to Spring with its new growth and flowers, to Summer with more flowers, fruits,
seeds and vegetables, continuing into Autumn with the harvest and changing of
the leaves, and back into Winter rest. Being a fan of the seasons helped me to
realise that herbs, both as food and medicine, should vary with the seasons. I
now routinely adjust herbal formulas for my patients and pets at least every 3
months, to ensure the body is adapting and changing with its surroundings. So
get to know your local hedgerow, because in the future I will tell you all
about the herbal treats it has in store for you!

Thought I would send you a little update on our Bull Terrier puppy. We started him off the day after we picked him up on your
completes and he is absolutely loving them. In the two weeks
that we have nearly had him he is putting on just under 1 Kg
per week and is growing nicely. He always looks forward to
food time and polishes off your food with no problems. No
upset tummy and really good back end too :D

Will purchase some Beef meals soon to add to the Green Tripe, Chicken and Chicken & Tripe that he has had so far. I hand fed him a chicken wing last week and he absolutely
loved it :) safe to say that the he is loving raw feeding and
looks brilliant on it! Thanks again for all of your advice and
your great food, we have one very happy bull terrier puppy
that always looks forward to food time.

Tom

]]>

Thought I would send you a little update on our Bull Terrier puppy. We started him off the day after we picked him up on your
completes and he is absolutely loving them. In the two weeks
that we have nearly had him he is putting on just under 1 Kg
per week and is growing nicely. He always looks forward to
food time and polishes off your food with no problems. No
upset tummy and really good back end too :D

Will purchase some Beef meals soon to add to the Green Tripe, Chicken and Chicken & Tripe that he has had so far. I hand fed him a chicken wing last week and he absolutely
loved it :) safe to say that the he is loving raw feeding and
looks brilliant on it! Thanks again for all of your advice and
your great food, we have one very happy bull terrier puppy
that always looks forward to food time.

This is a big topic and I can't possibly
cover everything, but this should give an overview.

How we, and our pets, suffer pain is a
highly complex issue, there are a lot of individual factors involved. Where and
how the pain happens can affect how much pain that is perceived, there are
differences in response between species and even breeds. There are also
differences between species as to how pain is shown and in what circumstances.
Territorial animals will avoid showing weakness for fear of losing their
domain, whilst pack animals responses can be altered depending on their
position in that society.

For most pets pain comes from injuries, surgery
and also from the degenerations caused by aging. The latter can be reduced as a
risk by not neutering at all, or waiting to neuter until fully mature (see my
previous blog).

Pain sensation can be attributed to
something called a nociceptor. A nociceptor is
a type of sensory receptor at the end of a sensory
neuron's axon that responds to damaging or potentially damaging
stimuli by sending signals of pain to the spinal cord and
brain. This process is called nociception.

Pain can be useful – as examples of
this; it can stop animals from moving around too much and worsening injuries;
it creates learning experiences benefitting survival, and arguably it also facilitates
and stimulates the body to recover.

However, too much pain leads to stress
and can cause other associated issues that can affect recovery. When
considering treatment therefore one must balance up the clinical pro’s and
con’s and consider welfare issues as well.

One has to also consider an unwelcome
aspect to pain that is termed "wind-up". This is where regular
stimulation of pain receptors leads to a chronic state of pain which can be
over and above that expected by the original stimulus; in other words,
something that you wouldn't expect to be particularly painful that ends up
being very painful indeed to the animal affected.

In human and animal anaesthesia, drugs
are given prior to operations to prevent wind-up and very useful they can be
too.

It is also a significant argument for
considering pain issues with age, such as arthritis, earlier on in the process
of the disease rather than waiting until matters get too bad

But what if we don't want to live on
drug pain-killers and prefer a more natural approach? Well, firstly of course,
we can look to herbal medicine. Herbs have been used for centuries as medicine
for pain, and those such as white willow bark, from which aspirin is derived
and which has led to a range of modern drugs, can be very helpful in pain
relief without resorting to the strong medicines with all their associated side
effects. Although more medicine than food, the active ingredients are in their
natural state and are in synergy with the other compounds found in the tree bark.

Cat's claw is a Peruvian vine which has
anti-inflammatory properties and has been used for a long time in South America
for relief from arthritic pain. Another bark product with anti-inflammatory
properties is Pau d'Arco which, like cat's claw, is taken as a tea. However, it
is recommended to contact an experienced herbalist (we have Dr Vicky Simon
specializing in herbal medicines at the practice) if considering these
remedies, since there can be interactions with other medicines.

Ginger and turmeric are excellent
anti-inflammatory spices, and can be taken in relatively large quantities since
they are also foods. We have found a really useful mix of these combined with
Boswellia gum extract and Celery Seed which is well tolerated and proving very
effective in many cases. It can be given safely to dogs who cannot tolerate the
commonly given prescription drugs for pain relief.

Homoeopathic remedies can help with pain
and inflammation too - Arnica is perhaps the best known of these for reducing
bruising of tissues. We give Arnica as a routine for all surgical cases at the
practice alongside specific remedies for the surgery happening. We also use
Arnica with Rhus tox and Ruta grav in combination for arthritic pain, with
probably as many of our patient’s arthritic owners taking it as well having
first seen the benefits for their pets.

For rebuilding muscles, skin, cartilage,
tendons and ligaments, a good dietary source of vitamin C is necessary,
together with an organic form of Sulphur. Sulphur is important because it is a
component of collagen. For sports injuries, which we see more of with since Fly-Ball
and Agility cIasses have got popular we use MSM (methyl sulphonyl-methane) to
provide this.

It's also important to mention the
things which create inflammation in the body, and therefore can lead to a
stimulation of the pain response. Number one things to avoid - sugar and
grains. Acid-forming grains are pro-inflammatory as well as being an unnatural
food for dogs and cats. Biologically Appropriate Raw Food proves itself yet
again best for pets

Finally, consider mindset. Anger is
pro-inflammatory, as is negativity in general. Happy, positive people heal
faster! The same is true for Animals. Well fed, well exercised, well trained
and happy pets suffer less.

If you need further help and input, why not
book a consultation with a Holistic Vet.

]]>Reducing pain and inflammation

This is a big topic and I can't possibly
cover everything, but this should give an overview.

How we, and our pets, suffer pain is a
highly complex issue, there are a lot of individual factors involved. Where and
how the pain happens can affect how much pain that is perceived, there are
differences in response between species and even breeds. There are also
differences between species as to how pain is shown and in what circumstances.
Territorial animals will avoid showing weakness for fear of losing their
domain, whilst pack animals responses can be altered depending on their
position in that society.

For most pets pain comes from injuries, surgery
and also from the degenerations caused by aging. The latter can be reduced as a
risk by not neutering at all, or waiting to neuter until fully mature (see my
previous blog).

Pain sensation can be attributed to
something called a nociceptor. A nociceptor is
a type of sensory receptor at the end of a sensory
neuron's axon that responds to damaging or potentially damaging
stimuli by sending signals of pain to the spinal cord and
brain. This process is called nociception.

Pain can be useful – as examples of
this; it can stop animals from moving around too much and worsening injuries;
it creates learning experiences benefitting survival, and arguably it also facilitates
and stimulates the body to recover.

However, too much pain leads to stress
and can cause other associated issues that can affect recovery. When
considering treatment therefore one must balance up the clinical pro’s and
con’s and consider welfare issues as well.

One has to also consider an unwelcome
aspect to pain that is termed "wind-up". This is where regular
stimulation of pain receptors leads to a chronic state of pain which can be
over and above that expected by the original stimulus; in other words,
something that you wouldn't expect to be particularly painful that ends up
being very painful indeed to the animal affected.

In human and animal anaesthesia, drugs
are given prior to operations to prevent wind-up and very useful they can be
too.

It is also a significant argument for
considering pain issues with age, such as arthritis, earlier on in the process
of the disease rather than waiting until matters get too bad

But what if we don't want to live on
drug pain-killers and prefer a more natural approach? Well, firstly of course,
we can look to herbal medicine. Herbs have been used for centuries as medicine
for pain, and those such as white willow bark, from which aspirin is derived
and which has led to a range of modern drugs, can be very helpful in pain
relief without resorting to the strong medicines with all their associated side
effects. Although more medicine than food, the active ingredients are in their
natural state and are in synergy with the other compounds found in the tree bark.

Cat's claw is a Peruvian vine which has
anti-inflammatory properties and has been used for a long time in South America
for relief from arthritic pain. Another bark product with anti-inflammatory
properties is Pau d'Arco which, like cat's claw, is taken as a tea. However, it
is recommended to contact an experienced herbalist (we have Dr Vicky Simon
specializing in herbal medicines at the practice) if considering these
remedies, since there can be interactions with other medicines.

Ginger and turmeric are excellent
anti-inflammatory spices, and can be taken in relatively large quantities since
they are also foods. We have found a really useful mix of these combined with
Boswellia gum extract and Celery Seed which is well tolerated and proving very
effective in many cases. It can be given safely to dogs who cannot tolerate the
commonly given prescription drugs for pain relief.

Homoeopathic remedies can help with pain
and inflammation too - Arnica is perhaps the best known of these for reducing
bruising of tissues. We give Arnica as a routine for all surgical cases at the
practice alongside specific remedies for the surgery happening. We also use
Arnica with Rhus tox and Ruta grav in combination for arthritic pain, with
probably as many of our patient’s arthritic owners taking it as well having
first seen the benefits for their pets.

For rebuilding muscles, skin, cartilage,
tendons and ligaments, a good dietary source of vitamin C is necessary,
together with an organic form of Sulphur. Sulphur is important because it is a
component of collagen. For sports injuries, which we see more of with since Fly-Ball
and Agility cIasses have got popular we use MSM (methyl sulphonyl-methane) to
provide this.

It's also important to mention the
things which create inflammation in the body, and therefore can lead to a
stimulation of the pain response. Number one things to avoid - sugar and
grains. Acid-forming grains are pro-inflammatory as well as being an unnatural
food for dogs and cats. Biologically Appropriate Raw Food proves itself yet
again best for pets

Finally, consider mindset. Anger is
pro-inflammatory, as is negativity in general. Happy, positive people heal
faster! The same is true for Animals. Well fed, well exercised, well trained
and happy pets suffer less.

If you need further help and input, why not
book a consultation with a Holistic Vet.

“I just wanted to say how happy I am with your company and product. My whippets have been fed on it since we brought them home at 8 weeks and as you can see they are thriving, naughty adolescents! Whenever I have needed some information or advice your staff have always been knowledgeable and have taken time to explain Thank you!”Whippets Gypsy and Rebel

]]>Another happy customer….

“I just wanted to say how happy I am with your company and product. My whippets have been fed on it since we brought them home at 8 weeks and as you can see they are thriving, naughty adolescents! Whenever I have needed some information or advice your staff have always been knowledgeable and have taken time to explain Thank you!”Whippets Gypsy and Rebel

]]>http://www.wolftucker.co.uk/news/lumis-stomach-troubles-are-over/
Mon, 20 Feb 2017 12:17:35 +0000http://www.wolftucker.co.uk/news/lumis-stomach-troubles-are-over/ "It’s early days but her growth and overall advancement is amazing everybody (even the vets!)"

Our very first pup, Lumi was picked up from a breeder in Lincoln on January 14th. She is a cross of many Lupine breeds, one of only 600 in the world, relatively new and unknown in terms of successful rearing. With that in mind it has always been a focus of ours for her to have consistent growth with a nutritionally balanced diet. We enjoy a natural diet and wanted Lumi to enjoy the benefits and variety of that also which a raw diet seems to provide.

After encountering many negative opinions on raw dog food from friends, family and vets, we left Lumi on her original kibble as given to us by the breeder for the first 2 weeks. During this time we encountered continual dietary problems that got increasingly worse. Lumi had loose stools all the time, became listless and disinterested in her food, this combined with failing to put any weight on and night vomiting led us to take her to an emergency 24 hour veterinary hospital at 1am where she saw her third vet in 2 weeks. This vet treated her for the vomiting and gave a course of penicillin which she responded to gradually but remained at just 3.5kg for the 3rd consecutive week. At this time I had a week’s supply of Wolf Tucker Raw Food in the freezer but I had been very reluctant to use it based on her condition and the advice of all vets.

At around 10 weeks and on a ‘wing’ and a prayer, we made the decision to start Lumi on the Wolf Tucker Complete Chicken Puppy food as it had got to a point where her condition couldn’t really get any worse. Her coat and eyes were dull and she showed signs of malnutrition, the worst of which was a clearly protruding rib cage. Within 2 days of changing her diet, her stools became firm, consistent and easily passable. After a few more days her coat became softer and her general demeanour improved noticeably day to day.

Since this point we haven’t looked back and have also introduced Chicken/Tripe, Chicken Primal and Beef/Tripe Complete foods which she absolutely loves. It’s early days but her growth and overall advancement is amazing everybody (even the vets!)

Thank you Wolf Tucker,

Matthew & Taylor

]]> "It’s early days but her growth and overall advancement is amazing everybody (even the vets!)"

Our very first pup, Lumi was picked up from a breeder in Lincoln on January 14th. She is a cross of many Lupine breeds, one of only 600 in the world, relatively new and unknown in terms of successful rearing. With that in mind it has always been a focus of ours for her to have consistent growth with a nutritionally balanced diet. We enjoy a natural diet and wanted Lumi to enjoy the benefits and variety of that also which a raw diet seems to provide.

After encountering many negative opinions on raw dog food from friends, family and vets, we left Lumi on her original kibble as given to us by the breeder for the first 2 weeks. During this time we encountered continual dietary problems that got increasingly worse. Lumi had loose stools all the time, became listless and disinterested in her food, this combined with failing to put any weight on and night vomiting led us to take her to an emergency 24 hour veterinary hospital at 1am where she saw her third vet in 2 weeks. This vet treated her for the vomiting and gave a course of penicillin which she responded to gradually but remained at just 3.5kg for the 3rd consecutive week. At this time I had a week’s supply of Wolf Tucker Raw Food in the freezer but I had been very reluctant to use it based on her condition and the advice of all vets.

At around 10 weeks and on a ‘wing’ and a prayer, we made the decision to start Lumi on the Wolf Tucker Complete Chicken Puppy food as it had got to a point where her condition couldn’t really get any worse. Her coat and eyes were dull and she showed signs of malnutrition, the worst of which was a clearly protruding rib cage. Within 2 days of changing her diet, her stools became firm, consistent and easily passable. After a few more days her coat became softer and her general demeanour improved noticeably day to day.

Since this point we haven’t looked back and have also introduced Chicken/Tripe, Chicken Primal and Beef/Tripe Complete foods which she absolutely loves. It’s early days but her growth and overall advancement is amazing everybody (even the vets!)

A lot of raw feeders who come through my door are happy just
feeding the pre-made ground minces containing bone, which nutritionally does
give your dog a balanced diet. However, there is more to feeding a raw meaty
bone than just nutritional benefits, and not all bones are created equal (as
far as your dogs’ health is concerned anyway!). Bone is an essential part of
the raw diet for both dogs and cats, as without bone there is a nutritional
imbalance. Bone is especially essential in the diets of growing animals as it
ensures a correct balance of Calcium and Phosphorous, crucial for healthy bone
development.

Unfortunately feeding raw meaty bones is one of the things that
seems to get the raw feeding movement into trouble, as it is these that
supposedly have so many potential health risks. There are risks involved with
feeding bones but if you select an appropriate raw meaty bone for your
individual dog then the risks are minimal. In my experience all of the problems
I have seen with bone feeding involve feeding cooked bones, or an inappropriate
bone for the dog itself. The key to countering these concerns is with education
as to how to safely and sensibly feed your dog raw meaty bones. Read on…

I think bones are fantastic, and a great part of the raw
feeding movement. In my opinion there are two main advantages to feeding raw
meaty bones, over just ground bone:

Number 1 is your pets’ happiness, as odd as that may sound! Chewing
releases endorphins into your dogs’ brain and central nervous system. Endorphin
comes from the words endogenous and morphine - these peptides are named as
such because they cause a decrease in pain transmission and can give feelings
of euphoria in animals (including humans). So there you have it, chewing a bone
really does make your dog very happy!

Number 2 in the major advantage stakes is Dental Health. In
the majority of cases, I find I can look in a dogs mouth when it comes into my
consult room and tell you whether it is raw fed or not. It really can be that
obvious! Raw food doesn’t contain any additional sugars or carbohydrates so
there is less chance of food deposits sticking to the teeth to begin with but
it’s the chewing itself that really makes the difference. Chewing raw meaty
bones causes a rubbing across the surface of the teeth which acts to chip off,
and prevent formation, of plaque deposits on the surface of the teeth. Plaque
deposits build up on our pets’ teeth over time, and lead to dental disease and
gum infections. Not only does chewing stop this from happening but it also acts
as a massage for the gums, which improves blood circulation, making the gums,
and so the whole mouth in turn, much healthier.

On the topic of dental health there are some warnings that
must come with feeding raw meaty bones, but generally if you choose appropriate
bones for your dog, you should be fine. The main dental disadvantage that we do
occasionally see is slab fractures of the molar teeth. This is where the side
of the tooth splits off from the main tooth. If severe this requires immediate
extraction of the tooth to prevent pain, infection and possibly a tooth root
abscess or similar. In my experience this issue arises from choosing too large,
and/or too hard, a bone for your dog, or feeding these too frequently. Read on
and I will discuss selecting appropriate bones for your dog.

The other dental disadvantage to feeding raw meaty bones is
solely a disadvantage if your dog eats bones in a certain way, and/or because
feeding bones means you are probably less likely to be brushing your dogs’
teeth. The problem I’m talking about is plaque build-up on the Canine teeth.
These teeth are the biting/killing teeth – they aren’t really involved in the
actual eating part, so they get little use when most dogs eat bones, making
them vulnerable to plaque deposition (but still less so than feeding a highly
processed diet). A similar issue can occur, less commonly with the incisors. In
some dogs, if you feed a suitable selection of different bones, especially
intricate bits of raw meaty bones like lamb necks and spines, then this doesn’t
occur because your dog has to work hard to get all the meat and connective
tissue off the bone, and so uses all their teeth in the process. If you just
feed easy to eat bones, then your dog will likely just use the molars and
premolars to crunch them up, leaving the teeth at the front of the mouth with
little to do! Obviously, compared to a highly processed diet, this is a
negligible concern.

Now onto appropriate bone selection. You may have noticed
that I mostly refer to raw meaty bones in this post, rather than just bones.
This is with reason: all bones that you feed your dog MUST BE RAW. When a bone
is cooked it becomes harder and more brittle making it more likely to splinter,
leaving sharp bony edges which could cause severe damage to your dogs’
digestive tract, even perforating in worst case scenarios. Cooked bones are
also much more likely to cause slab fractures of teeth, and once I saw a dog
that had got half a cooked bone wedged down over his lower teeth, but he
couldn’t break it to get it off so was stuck with his mouth open! Cooked bone
is also very indigestible, so even if your dog does manage to chew up the bone,
the chances of an intestinal obstruction are high as balls of solid bony
fragments can form, building up with each gut contraction to form an immovable
mass. Something to bear in mind with bones, especially in the Summer, is that
if your dog doesn’t finish the bone and leaves it out in the garden then it
will become harder and more brittle, especially if it bakes in the sun. Your
dog will then go back for another chew only to be encountering an effectively
‘cooked’ bone. So always make sure you clear up any leftover bones after your
dog.

As for the ‘meaty’ bit that is also very important. If there
is meat on the bone then there is additional material going into the guts with
the bone, as it would happen in the wild if dogs were feeding off a carcass.
The meaty bit is also often what your dog will eat first, and getting this away
from the bone involves more of the teeth, especially the incisors, used for
nibbling closely against the bones to extract connective tissue and muscle
meat. This helps ensure dental health is optimal.

In terms of choosing bones there are a couple of key points
I always emphasise. Firstly you should always feed more of the
non-weight-bearing bones than the weight-bearing bones – these include ribs,
spine, neck, etc. This is because the weight-bearing bones have to bear weight,
meaning they are naturally harder, and so potentially more brittle than the
other bones. This is particularly important as the size of the prey species
increases – a chicken leg has to bear much less weight than a bulls leg! The most
common raw bone that has been fed prior to a slab fracture seems to be a
weight-bearing beef bone, often with little meat on it. Secondly, unless you
are raw feeding a very small dog or a cat, then be very careful with chicken
wings. These are like small hinges, which if swallowed whole with the hinge
down, have the potential to open up in the oesophagus and cause a blockage
and/or damage. I’m not saying they are an inappropriate bone to feed for all
dogs – my Collie will neatly hold one in his paws and crunch it up before
swallowing; my parents Staffie has been known to swallow one whole and then
vomit it straight back up on the nice rug in the hallway! Perfect examples of
dogs that would be appropriate and inappropriate to feed them to!!

With chicken wings in mind I will also say this: If you
haven’t given your dog a certain type of bone before, then ALWAYS SUPERVISE
them! This way you can learn what type of bone eater your dog is, and this can
help you to select appropriate bones for them in the future. I’ve generally
found that dogs fed bones from a very young age tend to be much more sensible
with their food than dogs introduced to them at a later stage, particularly
greedy dogs! Another reason to supervise is if you have more than one dog.
Bones are a fantastic resource from a dogs perspective, so can result in
resource guarding, particularly from other dogs, but possibly even from you. If
you have multiple dogs it may be necessary to separate feeding partners, or
even feed bones to different dogs on different days to avoid unnecessary
conflict.

Another key point when it comes to selection of raw meaty
bones is the size of the bone. For example it would be inappropriate to feed a
Chihuahua a beef knuckle bone, or a Great Dane a chicken wing (unless attached
to more of the carcass). I always think that a nice way of trying to decide if
the bone is appropriate or not is to ask this question: “If my dog was in the
wild, could a single dog, or a pack of these dogs, bring down one of these
animals as prey?” No matter how hard they tried, I can’t see a pack of
Chihuahuas bringing down a cow! The other easy thing to do is to look at the
size of your dogs’ mouth, and the size of the bone. If they can swallow it
whole (and they’re not a delicate chewer) then it is best to avoid it, just in
case. This is erring on the safe side - I have seen dogs that have swallowed
beef or lamb ribs whole with no ill effects, it just isn’t recommended! The
longer your dog has been eating bones (I like to think of the long term raw
dogs as ‘experienced bone eaters’), the more variety of bones they can eat and
the easier they will find it to digest bones. On the topic of bone size, you
must also remember that a large bone will decrease in size as your dog is
munching, so you may need to remove the last bit of bone from them if they are
prone to swallowing this.

If you are new to raw then raw meaty bones can seem a bit
daunting. My advice is to avoid large whole bones for at least the first month,
to allow your dogs’ digestive system the chance to adjust to the raw diet. Raw
meaty bones you could feed quite early on would be chicken carcasses. These are
fantastic 1st bones, consisting of the ribcage and/or the back of
the chicken, because they are mostly cartilage and meat – chickens are
generally killed quite young for meat so a lot of their bones are quite
cartilaginous and so softer than most. Other bones to feed after the 1st
month to get your dog used to chewing bones are poultry necks, and lamb ribs.
Weight-bearing bones and beef bones should only be added once you know what
your dog is like with bones, and when they have been raw fed for a bit longer.
Pork bones are not an issue for most dogs, but it seems that about 20% of dogs
vomit when fed Pork and no-one really seems to know why! The other thing to
remember with Pork is to always buy British, because there are parasites found
in pork from other countries that can be dangerous to dogs if fed raw.

Just quickly I want to reassure pet owners that the ‘horror
stories’ you hear about chicken bones splintering relate to cooked chicken
bones. Many owners still produce a shocked and appalled facial expression at
the mention of feeding raw chicken bones. To these owners I always ask: “When a
fox steals a chicken from someone’s flock, do they go and light a fire to cook
and eat it? Or do they just eat it as is? And if raw chicken bones are so
dangerous, why aren’t all the foxes dead?!” So rest assured, raw chicken bones
are some of the best raw meaty bones to feed your pet.

A common excuse I hear from owners for why they don’t feed
raw is: “I don’t want my dog smearing a raw meaty bone around my house!” I
couldn’t agree more!!! I am a vegetarian and frankly the idea of having raw
meaty bones loose around my house is beyond grim. My dogs know that bone time
always occurs outside – they are handed the bone at the back door and off they
trot into the garden to commence feasting. If you haven’t got a garden, it is a
bit trickier, but if it doesn’t disgust you then the other option would be to
let them eat their bone in a room with an easy to clean floor (plastic or
tiles), so you can mop the floor with disinfectant as soon as they’re done
eating. If feeding raw meaty bones is still a big no-no then please ensure you
give your pet something to chew in their place. Dried fish or strips of dried
fish skin are great, as are large pieces of raw fibrous veg (think whole
carrots, broccoli stalks, cabbage or cauliflower cores, etc).

As for frequency of feeding bones, this I will leave up to
you on the most part! I would say if you feed ground bone then feeding a raw
meaty bone at least monthly is best for their dental (and mental!) health. Raw
poultry bones could be fed daily as these are so meaty they digest very
quickly. Large weight-bearing bones should not be fed more often than once a
week, unless you are feeding the prey model diet and they are very meaty. If
your dog has plaque building up on their canines then I would feed a lamb neck
or piece of spine at least once a fortnight. If you want to gross out friends
or relatives then I would recommend half a sheep skull – and then you can watch
the magpies or crows run off with the lower jaw and teeth!! The other way to
tell how frequently your dog should have a bone is by keeping an eye on their
poos – if they are producing very hard, white, crumbly poos then it may be
better to decrease frequency. If you are making your own raw, with mince or
meaty chunks instead of ground bone, then raw meaty bones should be fed at
least 3 times a week.

There are no particular bones that I would say you should
never feed, as long as they are raw and meaty. After that it all comes down to
you and your individual dogs.

If you are feeding raw food to cats then the best bones to
go for are chicken wings and poultry necks. The occasional large cat can manage
a chicken thigh or turkey wing, but for the most part only experienced bone
eaters will go for these. If you are introducing your cat to bones for the 1st
time then it’s worth cutting up chicken wing tips into bite size pieces. You
can then gradually increase the size of these pieces as your cat gets used to
chewing, until you are feeding whole wings, or at least whole wing tips.

As with all raw feeding, make sure hygiene around the
handling of raw meaty bones is high on the agenda. Also be sensible if your pet
has been unwell. If they have had an upset stomach for whatever reason then it
is best to avoid raw meaty bones until their gut has had time to heal (tripe is
great at helping resettle guts after an upset). Equally if they are diagnosed
with a major medical condition then it is best to consult with a raw feeding
vet if you are uncertain as to whether it is still advisable to feed bones.
Most importantly if your pet has to have gut surgery for any reason then take advise
from a raw feeding vet as to when it would be sensible to re-introduce raw
meaty bones post-operatively. The same goes for dental extractions, although
dogs seem to self-regulate more in this respect.

So to conclude I will say this: For my dogs’ mental and
dental health I will always feed them raw meaty bones on a regular basis,
likewise for my cats. I will always recommend to the majority of clients that
they do the same, alongside advice on the best bones for their individual dogs
– so always feel free to contact a raw feeding vet or raw food company for
advice on appropriate bones for your pet. If you are uncertain still if it is
worth the ‘risk’ then think about asking one of the raw food companies how many
bones they sell in a month, or ask an experienced raw feeder how many bones
they have fed their dogs in their lifetime, or a raw feeding vet how many raw
fed bone-eating dogs they have seen? Then ask how many of these dogs have
experienced issues relating to these bones? As with the eating of any food, or
the stepping outside of your house, or even the staying inside of your house,
there is always going to be a small risk. Do you let the minor risks in your
life stop you from being healthy and happy? Will you allow the minor risks in
your pets’ life stop them from being healthy and happy?

]]>To Bone or Not To Bone…

…That is the question. At least it’s the question of this
blog!

A lot of raw feeders who come through my door are happy just
feeding the pre-made ground minces containing bone, which nutritionally does
give your dog a balanced diet. However, there is more to feeding a raw meaty
bone than just nutritional benefits, and not all bones are created equal (as
far as your dogs’ health is concerned anyway!). Bone is an essential part of
the raw diet for both dogs and cats, as without bone there is a nutritional
imbalance. Bone is especially essential in the diets of growing animals as it
ensures a correct balance of Calcium and Phosphorous, crucial for healthy bone
development.

Unfortunately feeding raw meaty bones is one of the things that
seems to get the raw feeding movement into trouble, as it is these that
supposedly have so many potential health risks. There are risks involved with
feeding bones but if you select an appropriate raw meaty bone for your
individual dog then the risks are minimal. In my experience all of the problems
I have seen with bone feeding involve feeding cooked bones, or an inappropriate
bone for the dog itself. The key to countering these concerns is with education
as to how to safely and sensibly feed your dog raw meaty bones. Read on…

I think bones are fantastic, and a great part of the raw
feeding movement. In my opinion there are two main advantages to feeding raw
meaty bones, over just ground bone:

Number 1 is your pets’ happiness, as odd as that may sound! Chewing
releases endorphins into your dogs’ brain and central nervous system. Endorphin
comes from the words endogenous and morphine - these peptides are named as
such because they cause a decrease in pain transmission and can give feelings
of euphoria in animals (including humans). So there you have it, chewing a bone
really does make your dog very happy!

Number 2 in the major advantage stakes is Dental Health. In
the majority of cases, I find I can look in a dogs mouth when it comes into my
consult room and tell you whether it is raw fed or not. It really can be that
obvious! Raw food doesn’t contain any additional sugars or carbohydrates so
there is less chance of food deposits sticking to the teeth to begin with but
it’s the chewing itself that really makes the difference. Chewing raw meaty
bones causes a rubbing across the surface of the teeth which acts to chip off,
and prevent formation, of plaque deposits on the surface of the teeth. Plaque
deposits build up on our pets’ teeth over time, and lead to dental disease and
gum infections. Not only does chewing stop this from happening but it also acts
as a massage for the gums, which improves blood circulation, making the gums,
and so the whole mouth in turn, much healthier.

On the topic of dental health there are some warnings that
must come with feeding raw meaty bones, but generally if you choose appropriate
bones for your dog, you should be fine. The main dental disadvantage that we do
occasionally see is slab fractures of the molar teeth. This is where the side
of the tooth splits off from the main tooth. If severe this requires immediate
extraction of the tooth to prevent pain, infection and possibly a tooth root
abscess or similar. In my experience this issue arises from choosing too large,
and/or too hard, a bone for your dog, or feeding these too frequently. Read on
and I will discuss selecting appropriate bones for your dog.

The other dental disadvantage to feeding raw meaty bones is
solely a disadvantage if your dog eats bones in a certain way, and/or because
feeding bones means you are probably less likely to be brushing your dogs’
teeth. The problem I’m talking about is plaque build-up on the Canine teeth.
These teeth are the biting/killing teeth – they aren’t really involved in the
actual eating part, so they get little use when most dogs eat bones, making
them vulnerable to plaque deposition (but still less so than feeding a highly
processed diet). A similar issue can occur, less commonly with the incisors. In
some dogs, if you feed a suitable selection of different bones, especially
intricate bits of raw meaty bones like lamb necks and spines, then this doesn’t
occur because your dog has to work hard to get all the meat and connective
tissue off the bone, and so uses all their teeth in the process. If you just
feed easy to eat bones, then your dog will likely just use the molars and
premolars to crunch them up, leaving the teeth at the front of the mouth with
little to do! Obviously, compared to a highly processed diet, this is a
negligible concern.

Now onto appropriate bone selection. You may have noticed
that I mostly refer to raw meaty bones in this post, rather than just bones.
This is with reason: all bones that you feed your dog MUST BE RAW. When a bone
is cooked it becomes harder and more brittle making it more likely to splinter,
leaving sharp bony edges which could cause severe damage to your dogs’
digestive tract, even perforating in worst case scenarios. Cooked bones are
also much more likely to cause slab fractures of teeth, and once I saw a dog
that had got half a cooked bone wedged down over his lower teeth, but he
couldn’t break it to get it off so was stuck with his mouth open! Cooked bone
is also very indigestible, so even if your dog does manage to chew up the bone,
the chances of an intestinal obstruction are high as balls of solid bony
fragments can form, building up with each gut contraction to form an immovable
mass. Something to bear in mind with bones, especially in the Summer, is that
if your dog doesn’t finish the bone and leaves it out in the garden then it
will become harder and more brittle, especially if it bakes in the sun. Your
dog will then go back for another chew only to be encountering an effectively
‘cooked’ bone. So always make sure you clear up any leftover bones after your
dog.

As for the ‘meaty’ bit that is also very important. If there
is meat on the bone then there is additional material going into the guts with
the bone, as it would happen in the wild if dogs were feeding off a carcass.
The meaty bit is also often what your dog will eat first, and getting this away
from the bone involves more of the teeth, especially the incisors, used for
nibbling closely against the bones to extract connective tissue and muscle
meat. This helps ensure dental health is optimal.

In terms of choosing bones there are a couple of key points
I always emphasise. Firstly you should always feed more of the
non-weight-bearing bones than the weight-bearing bones – these include ribs,
spine, neck, etc. This is because the weight-bearing bones have to bear weight,
meaning they are naturally harder, and so potentially more brittle than the
other bones. This is particularly important as the size of the prey species
increases – a chicken leg has to bear much less weight than a bulls leg! The most
common raw bone that has been fed prior to a slab fracture seems to be a
weight-bearing beef bone, often with little meat on it. Secondly, unless you
are raw feeding a very small dog or a cat, then be very careful with chicken
wings. These are like small hinges, which if swallowed whole with the hinge
down, have the potential to open up in the oesophagus and cause a blockage
and/or damage. I’m not saying they are an inappropriate bone to feed for all
dogs – my Collie will neatly hold one in his paws and crunch it up before
swallowing; my parents Staffie has been known to swallow one whole and then
vomit it straight back up on the nice rug in the hallway! Perfect examples of
dogs that would be appropriate and inappropriate to feed them to!!

With chicken wings in mind I will also say this: If you
haven’t given your dog a certain type of bone before, then ALWAYS SUPERVISE
them! This way you can learn what type of bone eater your dog is, and this can
help you to select appropriate bones for them in the future. I’ve generally
found that dogs fed bones from a very young age tend to be much more sensible
with their food than dogs introduced to them at a later stage, particularly
greedy dogs! Another reason to supervise is if you have more than one dog.
Bones are a fantastic resource from a dogs perspective, so can result in
resource guarding, particularly from other dogs, but possibly even from you. If
you have multiple dogs it may be necessary to separate feeding partners, or
even feed bones to different dogs on different days to avoid unnecessary
conflict.

Another key point when it comes to selection of raw meaty
bones is the size of the bone. For example it would be inappropriate to feed a
Chihuahua a beef knuckle bone, or a Great Dane a chicken wing (unless attached
to more of the carcass). I always think that a nice way of trying to decide if
the bone is appropriate or not is to ask this question: “If my dog was in the
wild, could a single dog, or a pack of these dogs, bring down one of these
animals as prey?” No matter how hard they tried, I can’t see a pack of
Chihuahuas bringing down a cow! The other easy thing to do is to look at the
size of your dogs’ mouth, and the size of the bone. If they can swallow it
whole (and they’re not a delicate chewer) then it is best to avoid it, just in
case. This is erring on the safe side - I have seen dogs that have swallowed
beef or lamb ribs whole with no ill effects, it just isn’t recommended! The
longer your dog has been eating bones (I like to think of the long term raw
dogs as ‘experienced bone eaters’), the more variety of bones they can eat and
the easier they will find it to digest bones. On the topic of bone size, you
must also remember that a large bone will decrease in size as your dog is
munching, so you may need to remove the last bit of bone from them if they are
prone to swallowing this.

If you are new to raw then raw meaty bones can seem a bit
daunting. My advice is to avoid large whole bones for at least the first month,
to allow your dogs’ digestive system the chance to adjust to the raw diet. Raw
meaty bones you could feed quite early on would be chicken carcasses. These are
fantastic 1st bones, consisting of the ribcage and/or the back of
the chicken, because they are mostly cartilage and meat – chickens are
generally killed quite young for meat so a lot of their bones are quite
cartilaginous and so softer than most. Other bones to feed after the 1st
month to get your dog used to chewing bones are poultry necks, and lamb ribs.
Weight-bearing bones and beef bones should only be added once you know what
your dog is like with bones, and when they have been raw fed for a bit longer.
Pork bones are not an issue for most dogs, but it seems that about 20% of dogs
vomit when fed Pork and no-one really seems to know why! The other thing to
remember with Pork is to always buy British, because there are parasites found
in pork from other countries that can be dangerous to dogs if fed raw.

Just quickly I want to reassure pet owners that the ‘horror
stories’ you hear about chicken bones splintering relate to cooked chicken
bones. Many owners still produce a shocked and appalled facial expression at
the mention of feeding raw chicken bones. To these owners I always ask: “When a
fox steals a chicken from someone’s flock, do they go and light a fire to cook
and eat it? Or do they just eat it as is? And if raw chicken bones are so
dangerous, why aren’t all the foxes dead?!” So rest assured, raw chicken bones
are some of the best raw meaty bones to feed your pet.

A common excuse I hear from owners for why they don’t feed
raw is: “I don’t want my dog smearing a raw meaty bone around my house!” I
couldn’t agree more!!! I am a vegetarian and frankly the idea of having raw
meaty bones loose around my house is beyond grim. My dogs know that bone time
always occurs outside – they are handed the bone at the back door and off they
trot into the garden to commence feasting. If you haven’t got a garden, it is a
bit trickier, but if it doesn’t disgust you then the other option would be to
let them eat their bone in a room with an easy to clean floor (plastic or
tiles), so you can mop the floor with disinfectant as soon as they’re done
eating. If feeding raw meaty bones is still a big no-no then please ensure you
give your pet something to chew in their place. Dried fish or strips of dried
fish skin are great, as are large pieces of raw fibrous veg (think whole
carrots, broccoli stalks, cabbage or cauliflower cores, etc).

As for frequency of feeding bones, this I will leave up to
you on the most part! I would say if you feed ground bone then feeding a raw
meaty bone at least monthly is best for their dental (and mental!) health. Raw
poultry bones could be fed daily as these are so meaty they digest very
quickly. Large weight-bearing bones should not be fed more often than once a
week, unless you are feeding the prey model diet and they are very meaty. If
your dog has plaque building up on their canines then I would feed a lamb neck
or piece of spine at least once a fortnight. If you want to gross out friends
or relatives then I would recommend half a sheep skull – and then you can watch
the magpies or crows run off with the lower jaw and teeth!! The other way to
tell how frequently your dog should have a bone is by keeping an eye on their
poos – if they are producing very hard, white, crumbly poos then it may be
better to decrease frequency. If you are making your own raw, with mince or
meaty chunks instead of ground bone, then raw meaty bones should be fed at
least 3 times a week.

There are no particular bones that I would say you should
never feed, as long as they are raw and meaty. After that it all comes down to
you and your individual dogs.

If you are feeding raw food to cats then the best bones to
go for are chicken wings and poultry necks. The occasional large cat can manage
a chicken thigh or turkey wing, but for the most part only experienced bone
eaters will go for these. If you are introducing your cat to bones for the 1st
time then it’s worth cutting up chicken wing tips into bite size pieces. You
can then gradually increase the size of these pieces as your cat gets used to
chewing, until you are feeding whole wings, or at least whole wing tips.

As with all raw feeding, make sure hygiene around the
handling of raw meaty bones is high on the agenda. Also be sensible if your pet
has been unwell. If they have had an upset stomach for whatever reason then it
is best to avoid raw meaty bones until their gut has had time to heal (tripe is
great at helping resettle guts after an upset). Equally if they are diagnosed
with a major medical condition then it is best to consult with a raw feeding
vet if you are uncertain as to whether it is still advisable to feed bones.
Most importantly if your pet has to have gut surgery for any reason then take advise
from a raw feeding vet as to when it would be sensible to re-introduce raw
meaty bones post-operatively. The same goes for dental extractions, although
dogs seem to self-regulate more in this respect.

So to conclude I will say this: For my dogs’ mental and
dental health I will always feed them raw meaty bones on a regular basis,
likewise for my cats. I will always recommend to the majority of clients that
they do the same, alongside advice on the best bones for their individual dogs
– so always feel free to contact a raw feeding vet or raw food company for
advice on appropriate bones for your pet. If you are uncertain still if it is
worth the ‘risk’ then think about asking one of the raw food companies how many
bones they sell in a month, or ask an experienced raw feeder how many bones
they have fed their dogs in their lifetime, or a raw feeding vet how many raw
fed bone-eating dogs they have seen? Then ask how many of these dogs have
experienced issues relating to these bones? As with the eating of any food, or
the stepping outside of your house, or even the staying inside of your house,
there is always going to be a small risk. Do you let the minor risks in your
life stop you from being healthy and happy? Will you allow the minor risks in
your pets’ life stop them from being healthy and happy?

In the UK many vets
are now neutering dogs routinely before their first season. As a practice we
refuse to do this and to answer why, it is useful to put some facts on record.

But quite aside from
these facts, our clinical experience suggests we see many more problems in
neutered animals than those left entire, and even more in dogs that go through
this procedure before puberty. As we see a lot of second opinion cases perhaps
our views are coloured by that, but it remains a fact that neutering is banned,
other than for clinical reasons, in at least 3 EU countries. It is quite
arguably a mutilation with no arguable clinical benefit for the patient.

The main reason
neutering is actually done, is for the perceived social benefit for the human
population as:

1.It avoids some
inconvenience and expense for owners.

2.It stops heat [in
season&91; cycles.

3.No accidental
pregnancies.

4.Prevents unwanted
puppies being born. Some studies (USA) have shown as many as 56 per cent of
litters born are unplanned;

5.It reduces the risk of
abandonment of unwanted pets, resulting in mass euthanasia and neglect (but
human nature will ever mean this exists somewhat as an issue), but do consider
that some charities are now importing dogs from overseas to rehome here -
presumably as we don’t have enough unwanted dogs needing new homes in mainland
Britain already?!

6.Male dogs are thought to
be less likely to roam and are more likely to be better behaved - but more
about that later.

7.Early neutering is said
to offer breeders a chance to preclude others from using their bloodlines,
allegedly also preventing use of substandard stock.

8.Vets also find that early
neutering is often easier to carry out.

Point 7 is perhaps currently
especially relevant as we have been seeing puppies sent to their new homes
already neutered at only 8 weeks old!!! Some of these pups are proving
aggressive, untrainable, allergic and suffering growth problems. It seems a
problem particularly affecting some of the designer Poodle cross bred dogs and
really, in our opinion, it is animal cruelty to subject these dogs to a
lifetime of problems.

Since writing a
former version of this article we have become increasingly concerned over the continued
marketing of neutering as a health benefit despite articles in the veterinary
literature debunking this myth, and arguing for decisions to be made on an
individual evidence-based assessment of each patient.

The recently updated Animal Welfare
Act puts a greater obligation on owners to consider their animals' health and
welfare, including their ability to display normal behaviour. Clearly, certain behaviour
patterns are prevented and there is no way all owners could manage their pet if
all dogs were left entire, but we do need to consider some of the broad
assumptions and statements about neutering from a Canine perspective that all
owners should be made aware of when deciding if neutering is best for their
pet.

So does neutering benefit a dog's
health, and does early neutering (before the first season in bitches and from
as early as nine weeks old) offer significant benefits over a later operation or,
in fact, does it cause harm as we think it does?

Please note that all figures given
in this article relate to the studies I could find on the subjects (and there
aren’t that many), and it is always difficult to research a negative result -
and even harder to get funding for such! Accordingly all figures can only be
viewed as approximate and will be defined better, I hope, by future research.

The following chart is
a summary of the benefits and potential adverse events of Neutering in large-
and giant-breed dogs published in the veterinary literature. Of note, much of
the literature on this topic is retrospective and based on smaller select
populations, so relative risk is difficult to determine for individual animals.

EFFECTS OF NEUTERING ON RELATIVE RISK

Condition

Effect of OHE on Relative Risk

Effect of Castration on

Relative Risk

Overall longevity

Mild increase in longevity

Mild increase in longevity

Obesity

Moderate increase

Moderate increase

Cranial cruciate ligament disease

Moderate increase*

Moderate increase*

Hip dysplasia

Mild increase*

Mild increase*

Mammary tumors

Marked decrease*

N/A

Uterine, ovarian, vaginal tumors

Prevents

N/A

Testicular tumors

N/A

Prevents

Perianal gland tumors

N/A

Marked decrease

Prostatic carcinoma

N/A

Mild increase

Lymphoma

Mild increase

Mild increase*

Mast cell tumors

Mild increase

N/A

Hemangiosarcoma

Mild increase*

Mild increase

Osteosarcoma

Mild increase*

Mild increase*

Transitional cell carcinoma

Mild increase

Mild increase

Urinary sphincter mechanism
incompetence

Moderate increase*

N/A

Cystitis

Mild increase*

N/A

Benign prostatic hyperplasia

N/A

Marked decrease

Perineal hernia

N/A

Moderate decrease

*Age at time of surgery may be important.

Is Neutering is a relatively safe procedure?

Various studies incorporating
neutering show that post-operative complications following elective surgery
vary considerably. Some show frequencies between 1 and 24 per cent for all
complications and 1 to 4 per cent for severe complications.

Some dogs do die, but as best I
could tell this is reported at around 0.1 per cent (or one in 1,000). I could
find no studies showing reduced mortality risk with early neutering but as you
can imagine it is very difficult to design a study to research a negative
result.

Pyometra

Ovariohysterectomy
(OHE) prevents pyometra (a potentially fatal womb
infection) since the uterus and ovaries have been removed. The incidence of pyometra by 10 years of age
has been shown to be around 23/24 per cent which is significant. However, most
cases of pyometra will be resolved by the bitch having a hysterectomy at the
time, with death as a result of the condition being around 4 per cent. So,
relatively speaking, whilst the risk of death from spaying routinely is 0.1 per
cent the overall risk of death when older from Pyometra if left entire is possibly 1 per cent.

Studies vary considerably but, as
best as I can determine, between 12 and 20 per cent of bitches are said to
become incontinent to varying degrees after spaying, usually around two to
three years later. Most will respond to long-term treatment, but not all. Incontinence is devastating, particularly for
owners where the pet lives in close proximity and when she fails to respond to
treatment it can be a reason for euthanasia or rehoming.

In general, large dogs (>15 kg) have
a significantly greater risk for developing USMI than smaller dogs.4,5 Although
dogs that have OHE before 3 months of age show an increased risk for USMI as
compared with dogs that have OHE between 3 and 12 months of age,6
other data and analyses have not supported a causal link between age at time of
OHE and risk for USMI.4,5,7,8

Cystitis

Prepubescent OHE can result in a
recessed or hypoplastic vulva in some dogs and may predispose these animals to
perivulvar dermatitis and cystitis, particularly if they are overweight and
have USMI. These findings may explain the greater reported incidence of
cystitis in dogs undergoing OHE before 5.5 months of age.6

Prostate problems

Benign prostatic hyperplasia is seen in
50% of intact males by 5 years of age.9 Castration prevents benign
prostatic hyperplasia as well as other associated diseases (eg, prostatitis,
prostatic cysts, perineal herniation).10-12

However, in older intact males with simple
enlargement of the prostate, sometimes due to testicular tumours, late
castration is usually curative, as it is with most testicular cancer. However,
prostatic cancer, which logically you would think not a problem in neutered
dogs, some studies suggest is actually is up to 8 times more likely (see below)!

Overall Prostatic Cancer incidence is around 0.6% negating the benefit
of the castration argument.

Musculoskeletal Considerations

Removing hormonal influence on the
developing skeleton via Neutering can result in delayed physeal (growth plate) closure13,14
and longer-limbed conformation. The latter may play a role in the development
of orthopaedic disease, as shown in studies of Labradors and Golden Retrievers
neutered <6 months of age. These dogs had a 2× to 5× increased incidence of
≥1 joint disorders as compared with intact dogs.15,16

Canine Cranial Cruciate Ligament
Disease

Large-breed dogs that underwent Neutering
at <6 months of age have shown a 3× increased risk for excessive tibial
plateau angle and predisposition for earlier canine cranial cruciate ligament
(CCL) injury.17 Dogs that underwent Neutering at a non-specified age
had a 2× to 3× incidence of CCL disease as compared with intact dogs.18,19
In a study of 750 Golden Retrievers, none of the intact dogs had CCL disease,
compared with an incidence of 5% in castrated dogs and 7.7% in spayed dogs that
underwent neutering at <12 months of age.16 Body Condition Score
(BCS) was the same for dogs with and without CCL disease. This suggests that
change in conformation—not just increased body weight associated with neutering—was
responsible.16

Hip Dysplasia

Hip dysplasia may be influenced by
patient sex and breed as well as timing of neutering. In the Golden Retriever
study,16 incidence of hip dysplasia in males neutered at <12
months of age was double that of intact males, with an earlier onset of
disease. The BCS of the males with and without hip dysplasia and neutered at
<12 months of age was not far greater. No significant difference in hip
dysplasia incidence was seen in the females.16 Spayed or neutered Boxers
with a mean age of 3 years at the time of neutering had a 1.5× increased risk
for developing hip dysplasia.20 Data collected from a Veterinary
Medical Database between 1964 and 2003 showed that neutering (at a non-specified
age) increased the likelihood of hip dysplasia by 17%.18 Incidence
of hip dysplasia was 6.7% in dogs that underwent neutering before 5.5 months of
age and 4.7% in dogs that underwent neutering between 5.5 months and 1 year of
age.6

Obesity

Obesity plays a significant role in the
development and progression of many orthopaedic diseases and osteoarthritis.21
Although neutering is a significant risk factor for obesity,6,22,23 neutering
alone is most likely less important than other environmental factors (eg, diet,
exercise regimen).24

Cancers

Mammary Tumors

Many Vets are aware of the effect and
timing of spaying on incidence of mammary tumors based on Schneider, Dorn, and
Taylor’s 1969 study.25 This is argued so often as a significant
reason for neutering but does it really stack up?

It is said that spaying after the third
estrous cycle and after 2.5 years of age appears to provide minimal protection
against mammary tumour development.25,26 However, a 2010 systematic
review of this and other studies on the protective effect of OHE concluded that
the evidence is weak because of confounding factors and bias.27

Whatever, the statements are somewhat
misleading. Unneutered bitches have only a 3.4 per cent chance of developing
this problem with age, with 50 per cent of those cases being malignant. Early
neutering reduces this risk to 0.5 per cent of the 3.4 per cent (= 0.017 per
cent), but spaying the bitch after the first season and before the second
reduces it also to eight per cent of 3.4 per cent (= 0.27 per cent).

So the argument for early neutering over leaving the bitch to have one
season on the basis of this without considering all the other issues doesn’t
really stack up as particularly significant to my mind.

There is also a downside as regards to Cancer generally which is that
some studies show increased incidence of other cancers following neutering
including some of those discussed below.

Reproductive Tumors & Tumors Influenced
by Hormones

Neutering eliminates the potential for
developing uterine, ovarian, and testicular tumors through removal of the
primary organ.31 Perianal gland tumors in male dogs are treated
successfully via castration.32 OHE is protective against vaginal
leiomyomas and can decrease recurrence, even with incomplete surgical
resection.33,34 Neutered male dogs had 2× to 8× the incidence of
prostatic carcinoma as compared with intact male dogs34,35; however,
the overall prevalence of prostatic cancer is <1%.35-37

Lymphoma

A large population study showed that
intact female dogs had a significantly lower risk for developing lymphoma as
compared with dogs that underwent Neutering (at a nonspecific age) or intact
male dogs.38 This finding was consistent in studies of golden
retrievers and vizslas, although castration at <12 months of age was also
found to be a risk factor.16,39

Mast Cell Tumors

Neutering has been associated with 2× to
4× the risk for mast cell tumors, particularly in female dogs.16,39,40
However, estrogen receptors have not been identified in mast cell tumors, so a
direct hormonal link has not been established.41

Heamangiosarcoma

Golden retrievers that underwent OHE
after 1 year of age had 4× the incidence of hemangiosarcoma as compared with
intact females or females that underwent OHE before 1 year of age.16
No significant differences in incidence of hemangiosarcoma were found in male
Golden Retrievers.16 Similar findings were noted in a study of Vizslas,
although dogs that underwent OHE before 1 year of age or castration after 1
year of age also had increased risk.39 Other non-breed-specific
studies have shown similar findings for splenic and cardiac hemangiosarcoma.42,43

Osteosarcoma

An increased risk for osteosarcoma was
seen in Rottweilers that underwent OHE or castration before 1 year of age,
although the overall 13% incidence of bone sarcomas in this study group seems
disproportionately high.44 Historic studies have reported a 1.3× to
1.9× increased risk for osteosarcoma in animals that underwent neutering at a
non-specified age.45,46

Transitional Cell Carcinoma

Female dogs are more predisposed to
bladder transitional cell carcinoma than male dogs, and neutering (at a non-specified
age) increases the risk up to 3× in both male and female dogs.47,48
An 8× increase in prostatic transitional cell carcinoma has also been reported
in male dogs that underwent castration at a non-specified age.36

Neutered pets are better behaved, and early neutered ones better still –
NOT SO!

Quite apart from the fact that most behaviour problems are created by
owners failing to understand and/or train their dogs properly, knowing factors
relative to the breed and individual characteristics, and possibly also failure
to provide an appropriate environment, there are a number of arguments to
consider here.

Yes, neutered male dogs are less likely to take it upon themselves to
roam freely and, yes, they are less likely to exhibit normal behaviour and try
to assert male dominant behaviour, but all these things can be controlled by
human interventions.

However, the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation reported
significantly more behavioural problems in neutered dogs and bitches. Other
studies have also shown early neutering to be associated with increased
incidence of noise phobias and undesirable sexual behaviour! Quite the opposite
of what one would logically expect if neutering was a benefit. The most
commonly observed problem in spayed bitches was found to be fearful behaviour,
and in male dogs aggression (the very thing we castrate them for!). I wonder if
some of the latter could well be due to confusion as to the individual's place
in dog society as an adult-sized animal locked into a state of permanent
puppyhood?

On the upside, separation anxiety and inappropriate toileting when frightened
have been found to improve. Perhaps the result of a suppression of mental
development?

Ageing

Longer term, studies have also shown sexually intact males to show
slower cognitive impairment with age than neutered dogs. Results with bitches
were inconclusive.

Hypothyroidism

Studies on several thousand Golden Retrievers showed that those neutered
were more likely to develop hypothyroidism and this affects mental function
amongst its other concerns. Certainly I have diagnosed early neutered dogs that
have developed this condition as early as seven months of age, and also have
seen early neutered dogs fail expensive training programmes when they develop
it young. This perhaps is the reason why behaviourists are telling me they are
being called upon to help owners finding these early neutered individuals so
hard to train?

Other studies have confirmed this Hypothyroid
link and, for interest, the most common clinical findings in hypothyroidism
include obesity, seborrhoea (greasy skin), alopecia (hair loss), weakness,
lethargy, bradycardia (slow heart rate), and pyoderma (skin infection). Skin
diseases make up a lot of the work in current veterinary practice and most dogs
are neutered – as they say in the USA “go figure”.

I could go on, but it would be impossible within the scope of this
article to cover all the possible other minor issues seen as a result of
neutering, so I shall stop there!

In Conclusion

While existing studies on the benefits
and detriments of performing neutering in large- and giant-breed dogs <12
months of age provide some conflicting data, and most literature is
retrospective. In addition, because pet longevity is in some studies suggested
as increased with neutering,31,49 the risk for developing cancer may
be higher. On their completion, comprehensive prospective studies such as the
Lifetime Golden Retriever study50 could provide clearer guidelines
on when to perform OHE and castration if required by the owner.

It is important that owners make an
informed choice for their pet, but I would venture to ask 'where are the benefits for
the individual dog in all this?' It should be accepted that most of the
benefits are clearly associated with societal, human behaviour and convenience
arguments. Many years ago dogs were domesticated and perhaps this is the price
they pay as part of that bargain?

Clinically the arguments for neutering dogs do not, in my opinion, stack
up to much at all and it may actually be a negative action when looking at
their long term health. While for bitches there are some apparent positive
benefits, they are still minimal in my opinion, when compared to the risk
factors and long term health issues should the individual be unfortunate enough
to suffer them.

Ultimately the choice an owner makes (and the choice should be the
owners) will mostly depend on personal circumstances, the breed and how you
wish the dog to interact with your family – all human factors.

With regards to early neutering owners should be aware of the long term
issues that appear to be associated with early neutering over letting the dog
mature, and be prepared to cope should they happen. Promotion of early
neutering without explanation of the risks is in my opinion unethical, and we
have decided as a practice we will not do it anyway as the negatives are just
too many and so it is contrary to our ethos.

A decision as regards to whether or not to have your dog neutered should
be an informed one - it does not have to follow others' agendas and media
campaigns - and, hopefully, I have gone some way to helping with that.

Age of Neutering in Large and
Giant-Breed Dogs. Article in Clinicians Brief by Clara S.S.Goh BVSc MS DACVS,
ACVS Founding Fellow (Surgical Oncology), Colorado State University. August
2016. From which many of the references and some of the text in this article
are taken.

In the UK many vets
are now neutering dogs routinely before their first season. As a practice we
refuse to do this and to answer why, it is useful to put some facts on record.

But quite aside from
these facts, our clinical experience suggests we see many more problems in
neutered animals than those left entire, and even more in dogs that go through
this procedure before puberty. As we see a lot of second opinion cases perhaps
our views are coloured by that, but it remains a fact that neutering is banned,
other than for clinical reasons, in at least 3 EU countries. It is quite
arguably a mutilation with no arguable clinical benefit for the patient.

The main reason
neutering is actually done, is for the perceived social benefit for the human
population as:

1.It avoids some
inconvenience and expense for owners.

2.It stops heat [in
season&91; cycles.

3.No accidental
pregnancies.

4.Prevents unwanted
puppies being born. Some studies (USA) have shown as many as 56 per cent of
litters born are unplanned;

5.It reduces the risk of
abandonment of unwanted pets, resulting in mass euthanasia and neglect (but
human nature will ever mean this exists somewhat as an issue), but do consider
that some charities are now importing dogs from overseas to rehome here -
presumably as we don’t have enough unwanted dogs needing new homes in mainland
Britain already?!

6.Male dogs are thought to
be less likely to roam and are more likely to be better behaved - but more
about that later.

7.Early neutering is said
to offer breeders a chance to preclude others from using their bloodlines,
allegedly also preventing use of substandard stock.

8.Vets also find that early
neutering is often easier to carry out.

Point 7 is perhaps currently
especially relevant as we have been seeing puppies sent to their new homes
already neutered at only 8 weeks old!!! Some of these pups are proving
aggressive, untrainable, allergic and suffering growth problems. It seems a
problem particularly affecting some of the designer Poodle cross bred dogs and
really, in our opinion, it is animal cruelty to subject these dogs to a
lifetime of problems.

Since writing a
former version of this article we have become increasingly concerned over the continued
marketing of neutering as a health benefit despite articles in the veterinary
literature debunking this myth, and arguing for decisions to be made on an
individual evidence-based assessment of each patient.

The recently updated Animal Welfare
Act puts a greater obligation on owners to consider their animals' health and
welfare, including their ability to display normal behaviour. Clearly, certain behaviour
patterns are prevented and there is no way all owners could manage their pet if
all dogs were left entire, but we do need to consider some of the broad
assumptions and statements about neutering from a Canine perspective that all
owners should be made aware of when deciding if neutering is best for their
pet.

So does neutering benefit a dog's
health, and does early neutering (before the first season in bitches and from
as early as nine weeks old) offer significant benefits over a later operation or,
in fact, does it cause harm as we think it does?

Please note that all figures given
in this article relate to the studies I could find on the subjects (and there
aren’t that many), and it is always difficult to research a negative result -
and even harder to get funding for such! Accordingly all figures can only be
viewed as approximate and will be defined better, I hope, by future research.

The following chart is
a summary of the benefits and potential adverse events of Neutering in large-
and giant-breed dogs published in the veterinary literature. Of note, much of
the literature on this topic is retrospective and based on smaller select
populations, so relative risk is difficult to determine for individual animals.

EFFECTS OF NEUTERING ON RELATIVE RISK

Condition

Effect of OHE on Relative Risk

Effect of Castration on

Relative Risk

Overall longevity

Mild increase in longevity

Mild increase in longevity

Obesity

Moderate increase

Moderate increase

Cranial cruciate ligament disease

Moderate increase*

Moderate increase*

Hip dysplasia

Mild increase*

Mild increase*

Mammary tumors

Marked decrease*

N/A

Uterine, ovarian, vaginal tumors

Prevents

N/A

Testicular tumors

N/A

Prevents

Perianal gland tumors

N/A

Marked decrease

Prostatic carcinoma

N/A

Mild increase

Lymphoma

Mild increase

Mild increase*

Mast cell tumors

Mild increase

N/A

Hemangiosarcoma

Mild increase*

Mild increase

Osteosarcoma

Mild increase*

Mild increase*

Transitional cell carcinoma

Mild increase

Mild increase

Urinary sphincter mechanism
incompetence

Moderate increase*

N/A

Cystitis

Mild increase*

N/A

Benign prostatic hyperplasia

N/A

Marked decrease

Perineal hernia

N/A

Moderate decrease

*Age at time of surgery may be important.

Is Neutering is a relatively safe procedure?

Various studies incorporating
neutering show that post-operative complications following elective surgery
vary considerably. Some show frequencies between 1 and 24 per cent for all
complications and 1 to 4 per cent for severe complications.

Some dogs do die, but as best I
could tell this is reported at around 0.1 per cent (or one in 1,000). I could
find no studies showing reduced mortality risk with early neutering but as you
can imagine it is very difficult to design a study to research a negative
result.

Pyometra

Ovariohysterectomy
(OHE) prevents pyometra (a potentially fatal womb
infection) since the uterus and ovaries have been removed. The incidence of pyometra by 10 years of age
has been shown to be around 23/24 per cent which is significant. However, most
cases of pyometra will be resolved by the bitch having a hysterectomy at the
time, with death as a result of the condition being around 4 per cent. So,
relatively speaking, whilst the risk of death from spaying routinely is 0.1 per
cent the overall risk of death when older from Pyometra if left entire is possibly 1 per cent.

Studies vary considerably but, as
best as I can determine, between 12 and 20 per cent of bitches are said to
become incontinent to varying degrees after spaying, usually around two to
three years later. Most will respond to long-term treatment, but not all. Incontinence is devastating, particularly for
owners where the pet lives in close proximity and when she fails to respond to
treatment it can be a reason for euthanasia or rehoming.

In general, large dogs (>15 kg) have
a significantly greater risk for developing USMI than smaller dogs.4,5 Although
dogs that have OHE before 3 months of age show an increased risk for USMI as
compared with dogs that have OHE between 3 and 12 months of age,6
other data and analyses have not supported a causal link between age at time of
OHE and risk for USMI.4,5,7,8

Cystitis

Prepubescent OHE can result in a
recessed or hypoplastic vulva in some dogs and may predispose these animals to
perivulvar dermatitis and cystitis, particularly if they are overweight and
have USMI. These findings may explain the greater reported incidence of
cystitis in dogs undergoing OHE before 5.5 months of age.6

Prostate problems

Benign prostatic hyperplasia is seen in
50% of intact males by 5 years of age.9 Castration prevents benign
prostatic hyperplasia as well as other associated diseases (eg, prostatitis,
prostatic cysts, perineal herniation).10-12

However, in older intact males with simple
enlargement of the prostate, sometimes due to testicular tumours, late
castration is usually curative, as it is with most testicular cancer. However,
prostatic cancer, which logically you would think not a problem in neutered
dogs, some studies suggest is actually is up to 8 times more likely (see below)!

Overall Prostatic Cancer incidence is around 0.6% negating the benefit
of the castration argument.

Musculoskeletal Considerations

Removing hormonal influence on the
developing skeleton via Neutering can result in delayed physeal (growth plate) closure13,14
and longer-limbed conformation. The latter may play a role in the development
of orthopaedic disease, as shown in studies of Labradors and Golden Retrievers
neutered <6 months of age. These dogs had a 2× to 5× increased incidence of
≥1 joint disorders as compared with intact dogs.15,16

Canine Cranial Cruciate Ligament
Disease

Large-breed dogs that underwent Neutering
at <6 months of age have shown a 3× increased risk for excessive tibial
plateau angle and predisposition for earlier canine cranial cruciate ligament
(CCL) injury.17 Dogs that underwent Neutering at a non-specified age
had a 2× to 3× incidence of CCL disease as compared with intact dogs.18,19
In a study of 750 Golden Retrievers, none of the intact dogs had CCL disease,
compared with an incidence of 5% in castrated dogs and 7.7% in spayed dogs that
underwent neutering at <12 months of age.16 Body Condition Score
(BCS) was the same for dogs with and without CCL disease. This suggests that
change in conformation—not just increased body weight associated with neutering—was
responsible.16

Hip Dysplasia

Hip dysplasia may be influenced by
patient sex and breed as well as timing of neutering. In the Golden Retriever
study,16 incidence of hip dysplasia in males neutered at <12
months of age was double that of intact males, with an earlier onset of
disease. The BCS of the males with and without hip dysplasia and neutered at
<12 months of age was not far greater. No significant difference in hip
dysplasia incidence was seen in the females.16 Spayed or neutered Boxers
with a mean age of 3 years at the time of neutering had a 1.5× increased risk
for developing hip dysplasia.20 Data collected from a Veterinary
Medical Database between 1964 and 2003 showed that neutering (at a non-specified
age) increased the likelihood of hip dysplasia by 17%.18 Incidence
of hip dysplasia was 6.7% in dogs that underwent neutering before 5.5 months of
age and 4.7% in dogs that underwent neutering between 5.5 months and 1 year of
age.6

Obesity

Obesity plays a significant role in the
development and progression of many orthopaedic diseases and osteoarthritis.21
Although neutering is a significant risk factor for obesity,6,22,23 neutering
alone is most likely less important than other environmental factors (eg, diet,
exercise regimen).24

Cancers

Mammary Tumors

Many Vets are aware of the effect and
timing of spaying on incidence of mammary tumors based on Schneider, Dorn, and
Taylor’s 1969 study.25 This is argued so often as a significant
reason for neutering but does it really stack up?

It is said that spaying after the third
estrous cycle and after 2.5 years of age appears to provide minimal protection
against mammary tumour development.25,26 However, a 2010 systematic
review of this and other studies on the protective effect of OHE concluded that
the evidence is weak because of confounding factors and bias.27

Whatever, the statements are somewhat
misleading. Unneutered bitches have only a 3.4 per cent chance of developing
this problem with age, with 50 per cent of those cases being malignant. Early
neutering reduces this risk to 0.5 per cent of the 3.4 per cent (= 0.017 per
cent), but spaying the bitch after the first season and before the second
reduces it also to eight per cent of 3.4 per cent (= 0.27 per cent).

So the argument for early neutering over leaving the bitch to have one
season on the basis of this without considering all the other issues doesn’t
really stack up as particularly significant to my mind.

There is also a downside as regards to Cancer generally which is that
some studies show increased incidence of other cancers following neutering
including some of those discussed below.

Reproductive Tumors & Tumors Influenced
by Hormones

Neutering eliminates the potential for
developing uterine, ovarian, and testicular tumors through removal of the
primary organ.31 Perianal gland tumors in male dogs are treated
successfully via castration.32 OHE is protective against vaginal
leiomyomas and can decrease recurrence, even with incomplete surgical
resection.33,34 Neutered male dogs had 2× to 8× the incidence of
prostatic carcinoma as compared with intact male dogs34,35; however,
the overall prevalence of prostatic cancer is <1%.35-37

Lymphoma

A large population study showed that
intact female dogs had a significantly lower risk for developing lymphoma as
compared with dogs that underwent Neutering (at a nonspecific age) or intact
male dogs.38 This finding was consistent in studies of golden
retrievers and vizslas, although castration at <12 months of age was also
found to be a risk factor.16,39

Mast Cell Tumors

Neutering has been associated with 2× to
4× the risk for mast cell tumors, particularly in female dogs.16,39,40
However, estrogen receptors have not been identified in mast cell tumors, so a
direct hormonal link has not been established.41

Heamangiosarcoma

Golden retrievers that underwent OHE
after 1 year of age had 4× the incidence of hemangiosarcoma as compared with
intact females or females that underwent OHE before 1 year of age.16
No significant differences in incidence of hemangiosarcoma were found in male
Golden Retrievers.16 Similar findings were noted in a study of Vizslas,
although dogs that underwent OHE before 1 year of age or castration after 1
year of age also had increased risk.39 Other non-breed-specific
studies have shown similar findings for splenic and cardiac hemangiosarcoma.42,43

Osteosarcoma

An increased risk for osteosarcoma was
seen in Rottweilers that underwent OHE or castration before 1 year of age,
although the overall 13% incidence of bone sarcomas in this study group seems
disproportionately high.44 Historic studies have reported a 1.3× to
1.9× increased risk for osteosarcoma in animals that underwent neutering at a
non-specified age.45,46

Transitional Cell Carcinoma

Female dogs are more predisposed to
bladder transitional cell carcinoma than male dogs, and neutering (at a non-specified
age) increases the risk up to 3× in both male and female dogs.47,48
An 8× increase in prostatic transitional cell carcinoma has also been reported
in male dogs that underwent castration at a non-specified age.36

Neutered pets are better behaved, and early neutered ones better still –
NOT SO!

Quite apart from the fact that most behaviour problems are created by
owners failing to understand and/or train their dogs properly, knowing factors
relative to the breed and individual characteristics, and possibly also failure
to provide an appropriate environment, there are a number of arguments to
consider here.

Yes, neutered male dogs are less likely to take it upon themselves to
roam freely and, yes, they are less likely to exhibit normal behaviour and try
to assert male dominant behaviour, but all these things can be controlled by
human interventions.

However, the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation reported
significantly more behavioural problems in neutered dogs and bitches. Other
studies have also shown early neutering to be associated with increased
incidence of noise phobias and undesirable sexual behaviour! Quite the opposite
of what one would logically expect if neutering was a benefit. The most
commonly observed problem in spayed bitches was found to be fearful behaviour,
and in male dogs aggression (the very thing we castrate them for!). I wonder if
some of the latter could well be due to confusion as to the individual's place
in dog society as an adult-sized animal locked into a state of permanent
puppyhood?

On the upside, separation anxiety and inappropriate toileting when frightened
have been found to improve. Perhaps the result of a suppression of mental
development?

Ageing

Longer term, studies have also shown sexually intact males to show
slower cognitive impairment with age than neutered dogs. Results with bitches
were inconclusive.

Hypothyroidism

Studies on several thousand Golden Retrievers showed that those neutered
were more likely to develop hypothyroidism and this affects mental function
amongst its other concerns. Certainly I have diagnosed early neutered dogs that
have developed this condition as early as seven months of age, and also have
seen early neutered dogs fail expensive training programmes when they develop
it young. This perhaps is the reason why behaviourists are telling me they are
being called upon to help owners finding these early neutered individuals so
hard to train?

Other studies have confirmed this Hypothyroid
link and, for interest, the most common clinical findings in hypothyroidism
include obesity, seborrhoea (greasy skin), alopecia (hair loss), weakness,
lethargy, bradycardia (slow heart rate), and pyoderma (skin infection). Skin
diseases make up a lot of the work in current veterinary practice and most dogs
are neutered – as they say in the USA “go figure”.

I could go on, but it would be impossible within the scope of this
article to cover all the possible other minor issues seen as a result of
neutering, so I shall stop there!

In Conclusion

While existing studies on the benefits
and detriments of performing neutering in large- and giant-breed dogs <12
months of age provide some conflicting data, and most literature is
retrospective. In addition, because pet longevity is in some studies suggested
as increased with neutering,31,49 the risk for developing cancer may
be higher. On their completion, comprehensive prospective studies such as the
Lifetime Golden Retriever study50 could provide clearer guidelines
on when to perform OHE and castration if required by the owner.

It is important that owners make an
informed choice for their pet, but I would venture to ask 'where are the benefits for
the individual dog in all this?' It should be accepted that most of the
benefits are clearly associated with societal, human behaviour and convenience
arguments. Many years ago dogs were domesticated and perhaps this is the price
they pay as part of that bargain?

Clinically the arguments for neutering dogs do not, in my opinion, stack
up to much at all and it may actually be a negative action when looking at
their long term health. While for bitches there are some apparent positive
benefits, they are still minimal in my opinion, when compared to the risk
factors and long term health issues should the individual be unfortunate enough
to suffer them.

Ultimately the choice an owner makes (and the choice should be the
owners) will mostly depend on personal circumstances, the breed and how you
wish the dog to interact with your family – all human factors.

With regards to early neutering owners should be aware of the long term
issues that appear to be associated with early neutering over letting the dog
mature, and be prepared to cope should they happen. Promotion of early
neutering without explanation of the risks is in my opinion unethical, and we
have decided as a practice we will not do it anyway as the negatives are just
too many and so it is contrary to our ethos.

A decision as regards to whether or not to have your dog neutered should
be an informed one - it does not have to follow others' agendas and media
campaigns - and, hopefully, I have gone some way to helping with that.

Age of Neutering in Large and
Giant-Breed Dogs. Article in Clinicians Brief by Clara S.S.Goh BVSc MS DACVS,
ACVS Founding Fellow (Surgical Oncology), Colorado State University. August
2016. From which many of the references and some of the text in this article
are taken.